{"id":136584,"date":"2025-11-13T00:09:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T00:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/136584\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T00:09:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T00:09:10","slug":"cristiano-ronaldo-planning-to-end-irelands-world-cup-dream-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/136584\/","title":{"rendered":"Cristiano Ronaldo planning to end Ireland\u2019s World Cup dream \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was only last week that Cristiano Ronaldo<\/a> was telling Piers Morgan<\/a> how he hopes to meet Donald Trum<\/a>p one day to discuss world peace. His preference, no doubt, would be for the pair to bump into each other at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey next July, when Trump is due to present the World Cup<\/a> trophy to the winning captain after the final (unless it\u2019s Mexico v Canada). <\/p>\n

First, of course, Ronaldo, all 40 years of him, has to actually qualify for what would be a record sixth World Cup. Portugal \u2013 with 10 points from their first four games, putting them five clear of Hungary and another ahead of Ireland \u2013 already have a foot and a half in the finals. It would be mission accomplished, with a game to spare, if they beat Ireland<\/a> on Thursday evening. Even a draw should suffice. <\/p>\n

When he chatted, bilingually but briefly enough, with the media in the bowels of the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday, the Portugal captain didn\u2019t have the sounds of a man who had any doubt that they would qualify for what he confirmed this week would be his last World Cup. His first was back in 2006, when Evan Ferguson<\/a> hadn\u2019t yet turned two. His longevity is a wonder.<\/p>\n

When Ronaldo was told Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson<\/a> suggested he tried to control the referee in the meeting between the teams in Lisbon last month<\/a>, he came over all incredulous. <\/p>\n

\u201cReally?! Ah, I think he plays, he tries to put pressure on the referee. He\u2019s a smart guy \u2013 he knows how to push, to take pressure away from the players. I have been in the game a long time, I have seen all this before.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey know if they lose tomorrow they are out. But they have a chance, they have a good team. They will try hard, but we know if we get the points we are in the World Cup. The Irish need a win and other results to go their way, but they have a chance and we have to respect that. But we have a very good team; we are going to win the match.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CristianoCristiano Ronaldo said he expects Ireland to adopt a defensive approach against Portugal in Thursday evening’s World Cup qualifier at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: Ryan Byrne\/Inpho <\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t expect the contest to be a whole lot different to that last game. With Ireland needing to take something from the game, does he not anticipate finding himself a little more space? <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the game will be quite the same as it was in Lisbon. It will maybe be more exciting \u2013 Ireland will have a lot more fans behind them. But tactically, I think it will be kind of the same. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll push too much forward. They\u2019ll wait for us, they\u2019ll counterattack. They are physically very strong, but we are prepared, we should do it our way and try to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ronaldo is no stranger to Dublin, having played twice for Portugal at the Aviva Stadium and making his Real Madrid debut back in 2009 against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght. <\/p>\n

Enjoyable trips? <\/p>\n

\u201cVery nice. I really like the fans here, they really support their national team, it\u2019s lovely. It\u2019s a pleasure to play here, I just hope they don\u2019t boo me too much. I swear I will try to be a good boy, but I will try to score to help my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Would he have a chat with his former Manchester United comrade John O\u2019Shea<\/a>, now the Irish assistant coach? <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I see him around, of course. We played so many years together, I had a very good relationship with him. It is always good to be back here, the people are always nice with me.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"PortugalPortugal head coach Roberto Martinez had words of praise for Ireland international S\u00e9amus Coleman ahead of Thursday night’s World Cup qualifier in Dublin. Photograph: Brian Lawless\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

And that was it. Exit Ronaldo, enter Portugal\u2019s head coach Roberto Mart\u00ednez who, unlike his captain, was expecting a very different Irish approach to the game than the one they produced in Lisbon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think tomorrow we are going to see a different game,\u201d said Martinez. \u201cIreland have to win, they are at home. We are going to see another side to them; they can be dangerous on the ball as well, an attacking threat. Especially at set-pieces, the three centre-halves have a lot of presence in both boxes. It is the British type of game you probably don\u2019t see in other parts of Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Ireland are well organised, very structured, they look very well synchronised. I think it is down to the meaning of playing for Ireland, they are very committed. I see the purpose and the passion they have to represent the Irish jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just time for a quick salute to one of his former Everton players, S\u00e9amus Coleman, who was recalled to the Irish squad for last month\u2019s qualifiers. <\/p>\n

\u201cI probably shouldn\u2019t talk too much about S\u00e9amus because I love him to bits. I enjoyed working with him. He was the best right back in the Premier League in that 2013-14 season. He is still a very important part of this set-up, not just on the pitch but off it too. What he brings in the dressingroom can be very special for the national team.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was only last week that Cristiano Ronaldo was telling Piers Morgan how he hopes to meet Donald…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,79052,112],"class_list":["post-136584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-ireland-vs-portugal","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}