Why isn’t Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Portugal vs. Armenia in crucial World Cup qualifier?
This Sunday, Group F of the World Cup qualifiers will be decided. On one side, Portugal will face Armenia, while simultaneously Hungary play against Ireland. The combination of those results will determine which team secures its place in the FIFA World Cup 2026, who will go to the playoff, and who will be eliminated. Despite the importance of the match, Cristiano Ronaldo will not be on the field.
Ronaldo was sent off during Thursday’s match between Portugal and Ireland, which ended in a 2–0 loss for Roberto Martinez’s team. For that reason, the forward is unable to play in this match against Armenia. And that’s not all — due to the nature of the foul, an elbow to an opponent while not contesting the ball, it is very likely that the suspension will be longer than one match.
That puts CR7’s presence in Portugal’s World Cup opener at serious risk, as red-card suspensions in official FIFA tournaments must be served in matches of the same type. And if they secure their World Cup spot today, Portugal will not have another official match until the tournament begins next summer.
If Ronaldo receives a suspension longer than one match, the only way he could avoid missing the first match of the World Cup would be for Portugal not to secure direct qualification on Sunday, finishing second in Group F and being forced to play a playoff in March. There, Cristiano could serve the suspension — but that is clearly an unwanted scenario for him and his national team.
Portugal’s options without Cristiano Ronaldo
It’s evident that Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence is a major blow for Portugal ahead of the match against Armenia. The Al Nassr striker is the team’s biggest star, something reflected in his numbers: he is the team’s top scorer in the World Cup qualifiers with 5 goals in 5 matches.
Without CR7, Roberto Martinez will be forced to make changes in attack. The good news for him is that Bruno Fernandes can return, having missed the Ireland match due to suspension. However, the central attacking role appears to have a clear candidate in Ronaldo’s absence: Goncalo Ramos.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward has the ideal characteristics to play as a center forward and receive crosses and assists from the wings. He showed that in the few minutes he played against Ireland on Thursday, creating several scoring chances.
Repercussions from Ronaldo’s red card against Ireland
In the days following the loss in Ireland, many critical voices in Portugal targeted Cristiano Ronaldo, blaming him for burying the team’s chances of turning the match around. However, his teammates showed support for him.
“He knows it wasn’t something he wanted to do, but it happened, and he knows he made a mistake,” Bruno Fernandes admitted during a press conference on Saturday, according to Sportskeeda. “A red card is something normal in football. It was a moment where Cris reacted in a way that cost him dearly.”