2026 FIFA World Cup Countdown: Rooney See's Red Before Ronaldo's Infamous Wink

Day 31: Ronaldo Knows Where His True Loyalties Lie

As England fans, we have been treated to a rich array of international disappointments and letdowns, more than most other countries. Of course, the worst of these have come at the World Cup, where any tiny slip-up is magnified 100 times.

Just some of the most iconic English failures on the world stage include Gascoigne’s tears after being shown yellow in the 1990 semi-final, Kane’s penalty miss against France in 2022, and Rob Green's absolute howler in England’s opener against the USA in 2010.

However, one of the most painful moments came in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup against Portugal, a World Cup where, while the Three Lions certainly weren’t considered, they were still expected to go far.

In a repeat of their Euro 2004 meeting, in which Portugal had emerged victorious, the score sat at 0-0 after 90 minutes. With a relative lack of excitement, everyone was settling into the inevitable dread that a penalty shootout brought with it. However, an unusual scenario broke the relative monotony and has since gone down as one of the World Cup’s most divisive moments.

Red Devils

During the domestic season that had taken place in the lead up to the 2006 tournament, England’s Wayne Rooney and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo had been tearing up the Premier League for Manchester United.

Scoring 31 goals in all competitions between them, the two attackers had built a strong understanding of each other in the final third, with their unique chemistry and intimate knowledge of each other’s game capable of taking an entire back line out of the game in a couple of passes.

🔙🗣️ Gabby Agbonlahor (ex-Aston Villa) on facing the Ronaldo-Tevez-Rooney trio at Man Utd:

"Playing against Manchester United when they partnered Carlos Tevez with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney felt like trying to beat a cheat code. You’re standing there thinking, 'Come on,… pic.twitter.com/96jnkMq6Qj

— The Nassr Tribune™️ (@AlNassrTribune) March 16, 2026

The pair, along with Ruud van Nistelrooy, had used this flowing, fluid attacking understanding to their full advantage, motoring to a comfortable second place in the Premier League, and it was a key driver behind winning the League Cup, their only piece of silverware this season.

Rooney and Ronaldo, aged just 20 and 21 at the time, were understandably touted as some of the leaders of the next generation of footballers, and when both were selected for their respective World Cup squads, the media immediately touted them as potential game changers for their squads.

They could have been more right, but it would take until the quarter-final meeting between the two for their predictions to come true.

Road to the Quarters

Both sides topped their respective groups – Portugal emerged with all nine points from Group D which also contained Mexico, Angola and Iran, while England accumulated seven points from Group B, beating Trinidad and Tobago along with Paraguay before an entertaining 2-2 draw with Sweden in their final group fixture.

Joe Cole scores for England against Sweden at the 2006 World Cup ⚽️

Clive Tyldesley 🎙 “Joe Cole… why not? Swinging shot. Brilliant” pic.twitter.com/p5xae1ycx5

— Football Remind ⚽️ (@FootballRemind) November 21, 2022

Ronaldo netted his first ever World Cup goal with a penalty against Iran in their second group game, but aside from that, neither United star was able to make the impact people had expected pre-tournament.

The case proved to be the same in the last 16. England were drawn with Ecuador, and it was only thanks to a wonderful David Beckham free kick on the hour mark that England managed to advance – it wasn’t a convincing showing, and though Rooney flashed a few impressive skill moves, his impact in and around the goal was minimal.

As for Ronaldo and Portugal, they were showing shades of what would go down in the quarterfinal against the Netherlands, a game that would be labelled in retrospect as the “Battle of Nuremberg". In all, 16 yellow cards and four red cards would be shown, with nine and two in Portugal’s direction, and Ronaldo himself was forced off the field after just half an hour after a reckless challenge from Khalid Bouharouz.

World Cup 2006 gave us 'The Battle of Nuremberg,' between Portugal and the Netherlands! Just the 16 yellows and 4 red cards... 🇳🇱🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/YurMYtMnWm

— Football Fights (@Footballfights) October 3, 2025

Thanks to a 23rd-minute finish from Maniche, Portugal progressed, but neither side had been convincing in their path to the quarters, and it was a game that truly was up for grabs.

Seeing Red

The early stages saw Rooney and Ronaldo get more involved than they had at any other point throughout the tournament – both saw long shots gathered by the respective keepers, and both were useful outlets that their teammates were more than willing to bounce ideas off.

More than once, crosses into the box went unaddressed by their fellow attackers, and it was clear that both were trying all they could to get their teams the upper hand. However, the deadlock simply refused to break.

Lampard and Gerrard went close on multiple occasions for the Three Lions, before Joe Cole poked over from eight yards out, while down the other end, Paul Robinson was forced into a sharp save from a corner, before Luis Figo bent a signature, curling effort agonisingly wide of the far post.

Then, one hour in, the crucial moment came – Rooney, desperately fighting to keep possession of the ball against the centre-back Ricardo Carvalho, was dragged back by the Portuguese defender, and after what seemed like a tussle that took an age, the young Englishman lost patience.

🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup Countdown

Day 31/100: Rooney's Red and Ronaldo's Wink

It was a certain red – a stamp in the crotch area necessitates a sending off in any given sport.

But the referee could have made the decision to send Rooney off by himself. He didn't need Rooney's… pic.twitter.com/cnuEI1eSpz

— Football Park (@FP_CentreCircle) April 4, 2026

With as much disguise as he could muster, he stepped down onto Carvalho’s … How do we put this … unmentionable? This caused understandable agony for the prone centre-back, and quickly there was a crowd surrounding the referee.

To the surprise of many, though, it was Man United teammate Ronaldo who was leading the protestations, much to Rooney’s dismay. The Englishman gave his once-teammate, now rival, a shrug, and amazingly, Ronaldo refused to retaliate, instead focusing his attentions on the referee in a bid to get Rooney sent off.

Unfortunately, from an English perspective, it worked, as the referee brought out the scarlet red card and gesticulated to Rooney that he was being dismissed for his not-so-subtle stamp. He couldn’t argue – it was an immature, petulant, silly decision that deserved a sending off.

That wasn’t the shocking bit though – what shocked everyone watching at home was that when the TV camera shifted to Ronaldo, who had been at the centre of those pleading for the seconding off, he appeared to aim a wink at the Portuguese dugout.

Was it his plan all along? Had he been told to get in his teammate's head in a bid to force him into a rash decision? Would he have done it if it had been any other England player who had made the challenge?

One thing was highlighted as clear as day, and it was that regardless of where his loyalties lay at club level, Ronaldo didn’t heed those friendships one bit when it came to the international stage. To him, it represented another opportunity to gain the upper hand.

Cristiano Ronaldo's infamous wink at the 2006 World Cup could have ended his partnership with Wayne Rooney...

Instead they went on to become all-time greats at Man Utd 😉

(w/ @Culturecams) pic.twitter.com/MQEmyzfQAM

— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 19, 2025

Rooney’s red card saw England forced onto the defensive, and despite surviving the last half an hour of normal time as well as 30 minutes of extra time, the Three Lions would fall in yet another penalty shootout, exactly the same fashion in which they tasted defeat to the same country at the Euros two years prior.

Rooney’s red card was shocking enough, but it was Ronaldo’s dogged persistence and unusually forceful manner of protest that got his opponent sent off, and the cheeky wink to the sidelines just topped it all off – you can imagine there was something of a score to settle when the two got back to the United training camp for pre-season.