Can Cristiano Ronaldo bear the price of this red card? Will this be Cristiano Ronaldo s swan song in the World Cup preliminaries?

The away game against Ireland in the World Cup preliminaries was supposed to be a match for Portugal to advance to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. However, Ronaldo's erratic behavior in the second half caused Portugal to lose 0-2 away to Ireland, and the team failed to advance to the World Cup main event one round in advance.

Compared with Portugal's failure to advance to the World Cup finals, everyone is more concerned about Ronaldo's red card. With the score behind, Ronaldo gradually lost his mind. In the 61st minute of the game, Ronaldo raised his arm without the ball and elbowed Irish defender Dara O'Shea. After VAR intervention, the referee Glenn Nyberg canceled the yellow card and changed it to a direct red card, and Ronaldo was sent off directly.

This is the penultimate game of Portugal's US-Canada World Cup preliminaries and the 226th game of Cristiano Ronaldo's national team career. However, this red card may become Ronaldo's swan song on the World Cup preliminaries stage. With the last round of games left, Portugal leads the standings with a two-point advantage. As long as it defeats Armenia, which is ranked last in the final round, Portugal can advance to the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup. Although this is a high probability event, it seems that everything has nothing to do with Ronaldo now, because he will face suspension in the next game.

Because of this red card, Ronaldo may be suspended for 3 games. FIFA may announce the results of Ronaldo's suspension in early December. After this incident, Ronaldo has been allowed to leave the national team, but the Football Association hopes that he will observe the next round.

It is worth mentioning that this is the 14th time Ronaldo has been sent off with a red card in his career, and it is also the second time that his national team has been sent off with a red card. The first time occurred in the 2002 U17 European Cup. Portugal lost 0-2 to France. This was also the first time he received a red card in his career. The last time Cristiano Ronaldo received a red card was in the Saudi Super Cup in the 2023-2024 season. Riyadh Victory 1-2 Riyadh Crescent, Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off. Statistics show that at least 8 of these 14 red cards involved retaliatory actions, including 3 elbow strikes, 2 intentional kicks and 2 dives.

As the captain of the Portuguese national team and the spiritual leader of the Portuguese national team, Cristiano Ronaldo's red card is indeed a bit uncalm. Due to this red card, Ronaldo will automatically miss the next World Cup qualifying match against Armenia. Ronaldo is already 40 years old, and the possibility of continuing to participate in the next World Cup preliminaries is almost zero. This also means that this is the last World Cup preliminaries for Ronaldo on behalf of Portugal. This is likely to be Ronaldo's swan song in the World Cup preliminaries.

In fact, the feud between Ronaldo and Irish defender Dara O'Shea was already settled as early as September 2021. At that time, Portugal defeated Ireland 2-1. Portugal received a penalty kick shortly after the start of the game. Dara O'Shea deliberately kicked the ball in front of Ronaldo. Ronaldo waved and hit his opponent's arm in anger. Four years later, the original hatred has not dissipated, and Ronaldo's crying gesture towards his opponent also caused controversy after the game.

The immediate impact of the red card was obvious: Portugal had one less player to fight in the remaining half an hour, and ultimately lost to Ireland 0-2 in an away game and missed the chance to advance one round ahead of schedule. However, the deeper impact has only just begun. What's even more serious is that according to FIFA's 2023 revised "Disciplinary Code", violent behavior will usually result in at least a two-game suspension. According to the rules, FIFA will impose a penalty of at least three game bans, which means Ronaldo may miss the first two games of the 2026 World Cup group stage.

For Ronaldo, who has confirmed that the 2026 World Cup will be the end of his career, the opening game of the World Cup may only be spent in the stands. Therefore, the price of this red card is indeed too great. This may not be a consequence that Ronaldo can bear now. For a veteran who has been on the battlefield for a long time, it would be really embarrassing if he bid farewell to the national team, the World Cup, and his career in this way. Just like Zidane in 2006, he lost his mind and retaliated against Materazzi in the final and was sent off with a red card. France also missed the championship. This became the biggest regret of Zidane's career.

Looking back on Ronaldo's career, this is not the first time he has been given a card due to losing control of his emotions. In the 2018 Champions League, he was sent off for touching his head and pulling his hair. At the club level, 6 of his 14 red cards came from the Real Madrid period and 4 from the Manchester United period. This red card incident demonstrated the double-edged sword of his character - his extreme desire to win can sometimes turn into irrational and out-of-control behavior.

As the historical top scorer in the world preliminaries, this should have been a glorious farewell. The negative impact of this red card on Ronaldo's legendary career cannot be underestimated. It may have brought a hasty and regrettable end to Ronaldo's World Cup qualifying career. As the leader of the team, Ronaldo failed to control his emotions at critical moments, which directly harmed the interests of the team. Such behavior is unacceptable no matter what the reason.

From the perspective of personal image, Cristiano Ronaldo has repeatedly experienced emotional out-of-control incidents in recent years: wrestling with fans' mobile phones in 2022, public conflicts with Ten Hag, and this time's red card. This red card may be an excuse for some fans and media to question his professional attitude. Although his legendary status is no longer in doubt, this ending undoubtedly adds a blemish to his international career.

To a certain extent, his 40-year-old body can no longer fully support his unabated desire to win. The decline in physical function brought about by age creates a sharp conflict with his consistent desire to win. However, some people believe that this red card is just a natural extension of Ronaldo's winning personality, rather than a sign of deterioration in ability.

Regardless of the impact of this red card, Ronaldo's national team career will eventually come to an end. In the final round against Armenia, as long as Portugal wins, it can still qualify for promotion. Unfortunately, Ronaldo will miss the opportunity to perform at home. For Ronaldo personally, the most cruel thing may not be the suspension itself, but the feeling of powerlessness brought by time. His career was brilliant enough, but the way he said goodbye may not be as perfect as he imagined. For Ronaldo, this red card has changed everything. If FIFA ultimately decides to impose an additional suspension, Ronaldo's final World Cup may be overshadowed before it even begins.

It will take some time before the penalty decision comes out, but we still hope that FIFA can consider it as appropriate. After all, Ronaldo is 40 years old. The only chance we have to see Ronaldo in the World Cup is the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. We don’t know whether Ronaldo can win the Hercules Cup as he wishes, but we hope that Ronaldo can have a perfect ending, at least without leaving any regrets!