Although
Cristiano Ronaldo could not help secure Portugal’s qualification to the 2022
World Cup in Qatar against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday, he did win the heart of a young
fan. Following the goalless draw at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ronaldo
made a young girl’s dream come true when she ran onto the pitch, hoping to spend
a moment with her footballing hero.

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The Portuguese
superstar removed his shirt and gave her a hug before heading back to the
tunnel, with his young fan moved to tears by the gesture. Watch the moment
here:

While the lucky
fan will remember this moment for the rest of her life, it was a night to forget
for Ronaldo and his team as they were held to a goalless draw by the home side.
Central defender Pepe was shown a red card eight minutes from time, as things
got from bad to worse for the Euro 2016 champions.

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It was the 14th
red card of Pepe’s career, which the former Real Madrid and Porto defender got
for elbowing striker Callum Robinson.

Meanwhile, it
was a fairly even game, reflected in the possession stats with Portugal controlling
51% of the ball compared to Ireland’s 49%. The two teams also had equal number
of shots, with Portugal having three on target compared to Ireland’s two.

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Fernando Santo’s
side will now have to avoid a draw in the final group game against Serbia in
order to stay top of Group A and directly qualify for the World Cup. Portugal are
currently level on points with Serbia and are only above them on goal
difference. Both teams have won five and drawn two of their seven games so far.

The all-important
final game will be played at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on Sunday.