Roberto Martinez labelled Portugal’s defeat to the Republic of Ireland “a game to forget” after they lost 2-0 at the Aviva Stadium with Cristiano Ronaldo being sent off.
Troy Parrott scored twice for the hosts before half-time, then Ronaldo was shown the first card of his international career in the second half in Dublin.
A win would have secured Portugal’s spot at next summer’s World Cup, but they can still book their place in the tournament with a win over Armenia on Sunday.
Martinez, who has now lost a World Cup qualifying match for the first time, insisted his side must quickly move on from their defeat.
“It’s a game to forget. It happens in football,” Martinez told RTP.
“Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. And it went well for Ireland. We talk a lot about the set-piece, the transition, the corner goal.
“We lacked purpose. We showed fight until the end with 10 men, we played the last minutes with a lot of heart, but Ireland deserved to win.
“The strength of the stadium that Ireland had is what we need, and we know we can count on it in the last qualifying game to confirm our presence at the World Cup.”
226 – In his 226th senior international appearance for Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo has been red carded for the very first time. Mist. pic.twitter.com/VCgibTPK08
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 13, 2025
Ronaldo was sent off in the 61st minute after he appeared to elbow Dara O’Shea following a pitch-side VAR review.
The suspension could also affect Ronaldo’s participation in the 2026 World Cup.
He will definitely miss Sunday’s clash with Armenia, while any further punishment issued by a disciplinary committee would take effect from the start of next year’s tournament.
However, Martinez believes there was no malicious intent behind the forward’s action.
“Of course, we spoke. I think it’s difficult for a player like Cristiano, who’s in the box,” Martinez added.
“And today he had two defenders constantly in physical contact. There’s no violence. He tries to push the defender away and he was unlucky that the VAR.
“The angle of the images [makes it look] worse than what happened. It’s Ronaldo’s first red card for the national team. It’s incredible.”