Leader of Group F, Portugal is traveling this Thursday to Ireland, as part of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Difficult winners over their evening opponents on October 11 at home, the partners of Vitinha and Cristiano Ronaldo conceded two goals in the first period, signed by Troy Parrott.
While possession of the ball was largely in favor of the Lusitanians, it was the locals who managed to open the score in front of their home crowd. And it was on a set piece that everything happened. A corner hit from the left towards the far post and the ball put in front of the cage. The spectator Portuguese defense let Parrott push the ball into the back of the net (1-0, 17th).
Portugal suffering defensively
The visitors tried to come back to the score by retaining the ball, but they exposed themselves to another counterattack just before the break. And it was again Troy Parrott who stuck with it with a low shot which passed between the opposing goalkeeper and his post, enough to bring the score to 2-0 in favor of EIRE (45th).
For the moment, what Portugal is doing is a very bad operation. If the score remained there, its first place would be in danger before the last day and a final match against the modest Armenians, last in the group.
