Who: Portugal vs Republic of Ireland
What: UEFA World Cup qualifier
Where: Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal
When: Saturday, October 11, at 7:45pm (18:45 GMT)
Portugal will seek to strengthen their grip on Group F in their UEFA World Cup qualifying campaign when they face the winless Republic of Ireland in Lisbon on Saturday.
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The Portuguese stormed to the UEFA Nations League title earlier this year and are part of the group of football teams that have belatedly joined the qualifiers for the FIFA 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the match that could put one foot in next year’s final for Portugal, while it’s a must-win for the Irish.
How have Portugal fared in their World Cup qualifiers so far?
Portugal have won both their opening qualifiers in Group F, winning 5-0 in Armenia in their first match and 3-2 in Hungary in their second game.
How have Ireland fared in their World Cup qualifiers so far?
Ireland came from two behind in Dublin to draw 2-2 in their opening Group F match against 10-man Hungary. Adam Idah scored the leveller in the 90th minute. The Irish fell two behind once again in their second match, away to Armenia, but Evan Ferguson’s 57th-minute strike did not set up another comeback on this occasion, with the hosts holding on for a 2-1 win.
Why have Portugal and Ireland only recently joined the World Cup qualifying process?
Portugal and Ireland, along with 22 other teams, are only joining the qualifying programme for the World Cup now due to the progress of some of the top seeds in the 2025 Nations League, which culminated in June.
Portugal were crowned champions as they beat Spain 5-3 on penalties in the 2025 final.
Portugal beat Germany in the semifinal, while Spain overcame France. The rest of the qualifiers for the latter stages of that tournament are also only entering the World Cup qualifiers now.
The spots are filling up.⏳🏆 @aramco | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/3opHdZQUDX
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 10, 2025
What happened the last time Portugal played Ireland?
Portugal beat Ireland 3-0 in a friendly match in June 2024 in the last meeting between the sides.
Joao Felix gave the Portuguese the lead in the first half of the match in Aveiro, before Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a brace to seal the win.
The last competitive meeting between the sides was in a World Cup qualifier in 2021, which ended in a 0-0 draw in Ireland. Portugal won the reverse fixture 3-1, aiding their qualification for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Ireland failed to qualify.
Roberto Martinez says Cristiano Ronaldo has lost none of his hunger
“Normally, when a player wins or achieves something, the next morning they don’t have the same hunger. But I haven’t seen that with Cristiano Ronaldo,” Martinez said ahead of the Ireland match.
“With him, the next morning is an opportunity to become better and win again. This is unique. I cannot explain it.
“He’s had a 20-year career. He’s not the same player as he was before, but he always finds a way to be useful. And he’s an example to the others. His love of playing football and the national team is there for all to see. He has played more than 200 games and continues to set an example. He will be remembered forever.
On the qualification process, Martinez added: “The national team’s focus is on trying to qualify. We continue step by step. The training camp in September was very good, but we can’t lose what we did in September. Our focus is on trying to be at the best level against Ireland.”
Ireland need ‘almost perfect game’ against Portugal
“We know that we need to have almost a perfect game to get something from this match,” Heimir Hallgrimsson, the Republic of Ireland coach, said.
“If we do, we have a chance to steal a point or to win the game. Obviously, we need to try to keep a clean sheet. That’s always going to make it easier.
“We have a game plan that we think is going to work. We’ll see if that materialises. But obviously, if you look at the table, we need at least a minimum three points from this camp. And for obvious reasons, it’s probably the Armenia game that everybody is saying: ‘OK, we can have a good performance and a better performance than in Armenia and get three points there.’”
Head-to-head
This is only the 17th meeting between the European sides, with Portugal winning nine and Ireland winning four.
Ireland’s last win in the fixture came in a friendly between the sides in 2005, courtesy of Andy O’Brien’s solitary strike in Dublin. There have been four subsequent matches, of which Portugal have won three.
Ireland’s last competitive win against Portugal came in a European Championships qualifier in 1995.
The fixture dates back to 1946 and began with a 3-1 home win for Portugal in a friendly.
Portugal form
W-W-W-W-W
Republic of Ireland form
W-D-D-D-L
Portugal team news
Midfielder Joao Neves and defender Joao Cancelo are both absent due to hamstring injuries.
Republic of Ireland team news
The Irish have been hit by an extensive injury list, including Matt Doherty, Jason Knight, Bosun Lawal, Callum O’Dowda and Sammie Szmodics
Striker Troy Parrott made a substitute appearance in a match with AZ Alkmaar at the weekend, and returns to the Ireland squad, having missed the last two internationals due to injury.
Portugal predicted starting lineup
Costa; Dalot, Dias, Inacio, Mendes; Bernardo, Vitinha, Fernandes; Conceicao, Ronaldo, Neto
Republic of Ireland possible starting lineup
Kelleher; O’Brien, O’Shea, Collins; Ogbene; Cullen, Knight, Manning; Taylor, Azaz; Ferguson