Ireland will be hoping to build on last week’s win over Hungary and boost John O’Shea’s chances of being made permanent manager in the process.
It won’t be easy, however.
They face a Portugal side who are one of the favourites for the Euros and ranked sixth in the world, 54 places above Ireland.
11 Jun
7:10PM
Three changes to the Irish team started against Hungary, with Liam Scales, Troy Parrott and Jake O’Brien coming into the side, while Matt Doherty, Shane Duffy and Finn Azaz drop to the bench.
STARTING XI | Portugal v Ireland
Jake O'Brien starts for Ireland for the first time after his impressive performance against Hungary 👏
Troy Parrott & Liam Scales also come into the side with Ireland set to kick-off at 7.45pm 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/FumRJZxmnZ
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 11, 2024
11 Jun
7:12PM
Confirmation of the Portugal team below, with a strong side selected featuring Cristiano Ronaldo among other stars…
Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo; Antonio Silva, Goncalo Inacio, Pepe; Diogo Dalot; Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves; Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao
11 Jun
7:37PM
Who do you think will win tonight?
Poll Results:
Portugal (170)
Ireland (34)
Draw (23)
11 Jun
7:40PM
James McClean has backed John O’Shea to get the Ireland job…
Ronaldo may be 39 but he’s still a lethal finisher as his 129th international goal proves.
He is one-on-one with Scales, creates an inch of space and buries it into the top corner from the edge of the area.
11 Jun
9:01PM
Ireland make three changes.
Debutant Tom Cannon, Callum O’Dowda and Mikey Johnston come on in place of Parrott, Brady and Idah, all of whom have looked a little tired and haven’t been able to make much of an impact in this game.
55 mins: It looks like the referee is about to give a Portugal penalty after O’Brien appears to clip Jota following a loose touch on the edge of the area.
However, after a VAR review the referee gives a free kick in Ireland’s favour much to the visitors’ relief.
It very much looked like the team ranked sixth in the world versus the side that are 60th.
Portugal were much better for the majority of the 90 minutes.
Ireland sporadically threatened but overall, the hosts dominated and were well worth the 3-0 victory.
The prospect of John O’Shea staying on as manager remains uncertain.
Tonight’s 3-0 loss feels as demoralising as the Hungary win was encouraging.
That said, the FAI should be assessing the situation more thoroughly rather than judging the manager on two relatively meaningless post-season friendlies.
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As it happened: Portugal v Ireland, international friendly
Portugal 3-0 Ireland
Hello, and welcome to tonight’s liveblog.
Ireland will be hoping to build on last week’s win over Hungary and boost John O’Shea’s chances of being made permanent manager in the process.
It won’t be easy, however.
They face a Portugal side who are one of the favourites for the Euros and ranked sixth in the world, 54 places above Ireland.
Three changes to the Irish team started against Hungary, with Liam Scales, Troy Parrott and Jake O’Brien coming into the side, while Matt Doherty, Shane Duffy and Finn Azaz drop to the bench.
Confirmation of the Portugal team below, with a strong side selected featuring Cristiano Ronaldo among other stars…
Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo; Antonio Silva, Goncalo Inacio, Pepe; Diogo Dalot; Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves; Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao
Who do you think will win tonight?
Poll Results:
James McClean has backed John O’Shea to get the Ireland job…
We’re underway…
4 mins: Sammie Szmodics is down receiving treatment after a late challenge by Dalot.
He is back on his feet as I type and looks like he’ll be okay to continue.
8 mins: Cancelo curls a cross into the area but Kelleher is alert to collect the ball.
Ireland have sat back and are letting Portugal dominate possession.
12 mins: Ireland are struggling to keep hold of the ball.
As I type, Fernandes runs through on goal and goes around Kelleher but O’Brien is well-positioned to clear the ball off the line.
PORTUGAL 1-0 IRELAND (FELIX 18)
Ireland are caught napping at a short Portugal corner.
Szmodics loses Felix, who fires a brilliant shot past Kelleher and into the corner of the net.
22 mins: Portugal come very close to doubling their advantage.
A deflected Ronaldo free kick from about 30 yards out comes back off the post.
Coleman does well on the rebound to ensure Leao can’t get a clear touch on it.
Down the other end, Szmodics has a great chance with the goal suddenly at his mercy but the defender does very well to make a last-ditch interception.
Here’s a look at the opening goal…
29 mins: Dalot gets away from Brady.
The ball is then squared across the area to Fernandes, whose first-tume finish hits the side netting.
Portugal continue to be very much in the ascendancy.
35 mins: Idah gets a sight on goal and passes to Szmodics when he might have been better off taking it on himself.
The Blackburn star’s effort is subsequently blocked.
Moments later, a goalmouth scramble ends with Idah blasting the ball into the side-netting.
41 mins: Leão has been causing Coleman problems down Ireland’s right.
He gets away from the Everton man again before curling an effort a few inches off target.
Here’s a look at one of the few chances that have come Ireland’s way…
45 mins: Ronaldo angrily appeals for a penalty and gets booked, as a result.
Brady won a header in the area but knocked over the former Man United striker while doing so.
Moments later, Fernandes puts a great ball in but Inácio’s header is off target.
Then, Ronaldo’s low first-time shot lacks the necessary accuracy and is comfortably saved by Kelleher.
HALF-TIME: PORTUGAL 1-0 IRELAND
So half-time and Ireland are probably slightly fortunate to be only 1-0 down.
The hosts have dominated possession and territory, with Kelleher kept busy and making more than one important save.
Ireland have struggled to keep hold of the ball and will be frustrated at the lack of concentration at the corner kick that led to the opening goal.
The visitors have had occasional promising moments, often due to Portuguese mistakes, but haven’t been able to capitalise on these rare opportunities.
Ireland have got a bit of a runaround, and it would be no surprise to see at least one change at the break.
Portugal have made five changes at the break.
Semedo, Jota, Neves, Danilo Pereira and Nuno Mendes are on.
Cancelo, Felix, Dalot, Pepe and Leao are off.
The second half has begun.
PORTUGAL 2-0 IRELAND (RONALDO 50)
Ronaldo may be 39 but he’s still a lethal finisher as his 129th international goal proves.
He is one-on-one with Scales, creates an inch of space and buries it into the top corner from the edge of the area.
Ireland make three changes.
Debutant Tom Cannon, Callum O’Dowda and Mikey Johnston come on in place of Parrott, Brady and Idah, all of whom have looked a little tired and haven’t been able to make much of an impact in this game.
Here’s a look at the second goal…
55 mins: It looks like the referee is about to give a Portugal penalty after O’Brien appears to clip Jota following a loose touch on the edge of the area.
However, after a VAR review the referee gives a free kick in Ireland’s favour much to the visitors’ relief.
PORTUGAL 3-0 IRELAND (RONALDO 60)
Jota does really well to get away from both Coleman and Smallbone.
The Liverpool man plays it to Ronaldo, who makes no mistake with another clinical finish.
Moments later, Cannon gets away from Danilo Pereira, but he can only find the side netting from a tricky angle.
63 mins: Jake O’Brien makes a good block to stop Nélson Semedo getting a shot on target.
Ireland have to be careful they don’t suffer a thrashing here.
66 mins: Ireland are pushing bodies forward and nearly get caught on the counter.
On this occasion, Ronaldo’s low cross is intercepted and cleared to safety.
68 mins: This game is very open now.
Ireland are throwing caution to the wind but Portugal continue to look like the much more dangerous side.
More changes for Ireland.
Jason Knight and Matt Doherty replace Seamus Coleman and Sammie Szmodics, neither of whom have had the best of games.
Here’s the video for Ronaldo’s second and Portugal’s third…
74 mins: Nervy moment for Kelleher.
Ronaldo threatens to dispossess him and then goes down protesting in vain for a penalty as the Liverpool man eventually clears.
Moments later, he fires into the side netting, but it would have been offside anyway.
77 mins: Another, final change for Portugal.
João Neves is replaced by Matheus Nunes.
79 mins: A graphic goes up on the screen that gives a sense of how this game has gone.
Portugal have completed 572 passes to Ireland’s 244.
83 mins: Ireland make a final change.
Mark Sykes gets a runout, replacing Will Smallbone.
85 mins: Sykes threatens to run through on goal, but the pacy and strong Mendes recovers well and wins the ball back.
This game is petering out now.
89 mins: Good link-up play between Johnston and Cannon before the former’s cross goes straight into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Both those players have looked lively and added more pace to the attack.
FULL-TIME: PORTUGAL 3-0 IRELAND
So that’s that.
It very much looked like the team ranked sixth in the world versus the side that are 60th.
Portugal were much better for the majority of the 90 minutes.
Ireland sporadically threatened but overall, the hosts dominated and were well worth the 3-0 victory.
The prospect of John O’Shea staying on as manager remains uncertain.
Tonight’s 3-0 loss feels as demoralising as the Hungary win was encouraging.
That said, the FAI should be assessing the situation more thoroughly rather than judging the manager on two relatively meaningless post-season friendlies.
Right, that’s all from me for now.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
You can read our match report here and we’ll have more reaction on the site shortly.
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International Friendly Live Liveblog minute-by-miinute Ireland Republic Portugal