Overview
- Portugal crushed Armenia 9-1 at the Estádio do Dragão to seal a place at the 2026 World Cup, with Bruno Fernandes and João Neves completing hat-tricks.
- Cristiano Ronaldo did not play as he served the automatic one-match suspension for his straight red card against Ireland.
- FIFA has opened a disciplinary case after VAR upheld Ronaldo’s dismissal for an elbow on defender Dara O'Shea in Dublin.
- The Portuguese federation, with Pedro Proença involved, is preparing a three-point submission citing pre-match provocation, persistent grappling against Ronaldo, and his clean red-card record for Portugal to cap the sanction at one game.
- This was Ronaldo’s first sending-off for the national team and the 13th of his career, as debate grew with A Bola’s harsh criticism and Roberto Martínez disputing the red card’s severity.