Ronaldo Ready to Soak up Dublin Boos to Ease Pressure on Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo expects to be booed against Ireland but hopes the attention will ease the pressure on his Portuguese teammates during Thursday’s World Cup qualifier in Dublin.

The 40-year-old brazenly celebrated Ruben Neves’ 91st-minute header in front of Ireland defender Jake O’Brien in last month’s 1-0 reverse win but vowed to be a “good boy” at the Aviva Stadium.

Unbeaten Portugal are leading Group F with three wins in four matches, and this victory will guarantee their direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Ronaldo aims to take part in the sixth edition of the tournament.

“The stadium will boo me, but I’m used to it. I hope so. Maybe it will ease the pressure on the other players,” Ronaldo told reporters on Wednesday. he said.

Ireland sit third in the group, six points behind Portugal and one behind Hungary, and need to pick up at least a point against Portugal to keep their play-off hopes alive ahead of their final game against Hungary.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Ireland captain Nathan Collins said he “did not understand” Ronaldo’s nose celebration during the defeat in Lisbon and suggested Ronaldo may have been frustrated after his penalty was saved.

Ronaldo says he is excited to play in Ireland even if Aviva fans are hostile towards him. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner said, “Of course it will be a difficult match. I hope they don’t boo me too much.” “I swear I’ll try to be a good boy.”

Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, has scored more than 950 goals for club and country and recently said he would hang up his boots “in a year or two”.