The hosts were dominant, however Ireland had some good spells in the first half, with Sammie Szmodics and Adam Idah unable to get that final pass right – which could have changed the game.

Ireland fell asleep for João Felix's goal in the 18th minute and from then it was unlikely that Ireland were going to get back into the game from that point.

Cristiano Ronaldo took the game by the horns in the second half, scoring an outrageous goal from just inside the box, beating the defender with his vintage stepover before smashing the ball into the top corner. Ronaldo would score another brilliant goal in the 60th minute, with another impeccable strike – which rooted Liverpool’s Caomhin Kelleher in the Ireland goal.

From then on, the game could have ended with a cricket score – but thanks to some good saves from Caoimhin Kelleher, the game ended 3-0 for the Seleção ahead of their opening game of Euro 2024 against the Czech Republic on June 18th.

Northern Ireland managed to rectify their heavy defeat against Spain last week with a 2-0 victory over Andorra in Murcia. Liverpool’s Conor Bradley scored a quickfire brace to give Michael O’Neill’s side a third victory in five.


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Hello reader, I'm Ben. I love to write and talk about sports and I am, unfortunately, hopeless at golf. Thanks for reading! 

Ben Lynch