2026 World Cup Qualifiers: John O'Shea Confident Ireland Can Shut Down Ronaldo in Dublin

Republic of Ireland national team assistant coach John O’Shea stated his team is ready for the huge challenge of hosting Portugal in the ongoing UEFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. This hotly anticipated clash will take place at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, on Friday, November 14, 2025 at 02:45 AM WIB.

This match is a tough test for The Boys in Green, who will face Cristiano Ronaldo again – the player they effectively kept quiet in their previous encounter last October. Back then, the Republic managed to contain the megastar's threat, despite ultimately losing narrowly 0-1 to a late Ruben Neves goal.

Now, Ronaldo arrives in superb form. The 40-year-old striker has scored 10 goals in 11 games for Al Nassr this season. However, O’Shea insists his team is prepared to repeat their successful formula to neutralize the threat from his former Manchester United teammate.

“Look, we managed to stop him in the last game,” O’Shea was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

“We have to be compact, aggressive, and we have to cut out the crosses – these are the things we can do to get the win.”

Portugal has been impressive throughout the qualifiers, recording three wins and one draw from four matches. 

These results see Selecao das Quinas topping the Group F standings with 10 points. They need just two more points to secure their ticket to the 2026 World Cup finals.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland is still fighting in third place with four points from four matches. 

A win against Portugal is non-negotiable if they want to keep their hopes alive of reaching the finals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico next year.

With high motivation and the backing of the Aviva Stadium crowd, John O’Shea hopes his players can once again display disciplined and energetic performance against Roberto Martinez's side.