The Republic of Ireland remain in the hunt for a place at the 2026 World Cup after they stunned Portugal 2-0 at the Aviva Stadium, with Cristiano Ronaldo being sent off.

Troy Parrott scored twice for the hosts in Dublin, while it was contrasting emotions for Portugal's number seven as Ronaldo received the first red card of his storied international career, in his 226th match.

AZ Alkmaar striker Parrott gave Ireland the lead after 17 minutes when a deep corner towards the far post was headed across goal by Liam Scales, and Parrott was on hand in the six-yard box to convert past Diogo Costa.

Chiedozie Ogbene struck the upright with a low, curling effort, but Parrott doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time as he managed to squeeze the ball in at the near post after taking down a hopeful long pass from Dara O'Shea.

And Portugal's hopes of a turnaround were all but gone when Ronaldo was sent off following a pitchside VAR review, after the forward caught O'Shea with his elbow in a moment of frustration.

Goncalo Ramos forced a late save from Caoimhin Kelleher, but Heimir Hallgrimsson's side are now three points behind Portugal in Group F and trail second-placed Hungary by only one ahead of their meeting on Sunday, which will bring the curtain down on their campaign.

Data Debrief: Parrott achieves rare Irish brace

Although they were aided by Ronaldo's red card, it was a well-earned victory for Ireland, who produced 1.96 expected goals (xG) from 14 shots to Portugal's 1.55 from 27 attempts.

Portugal's 15 shots were their most in the first half of a major tournament qualifier (World Cup/Euros) without scoring since September 2017 versus Hungary (17).

Aged 23 years and 282 days, Parrott is the third-youngest player ever to score more than once in a competitive international for Ireland, after David Connolly against Liechtenstein in May 1997 (19 years and 349 days) and Robbie Keane versus Malta in October 1998 (18 years and 98 days).

The former Tottenham forward is also the first player to score more than once in any match for Ireland since Callum Robinson netted a hat-trick against Qatar in October 2021.