Jubilant Cristiano Ronaldo said he still believed that he would come good after his first half penalty was saved by Ireland's Gavin Bazunu before walking out of an interview with RTE's Tony O'Donoghue.
The Republic were left devastated when Ronaldo headed home twice in the final minutes - the second in the fifth minute of injury time - to turn a likely World Cup qualifying defeat to Stephen Kenny's men into a famous victory, with the veteran breaking the world record for international goals by scoring his 110th and 111th for Portugal.
Ronaldo said: "So happy, I'm very happy, not only because I beat the record but because of the special moments that we had, (it was) so tough but I have to appreciate what the team did, we believed until the end.
"For the supporters, I'm so glad."
The Portuguese forward's immediate Manchester United future has also been boosted by his yellow card for his celebration.
Bazunu saved from the spot from Ronaldo in the first half, after Jeff Hendrick was penalised for fouling Diogo Jota in the Ireland box.
But the new Manchester United signing told RTE: "It's part of the game, it's part of the business. Sometimes you score, sometimes you make a mistake, but it's part of the business.
"I still believed until the end of the game and I'm so glad to score and to win the game."
Ronaldo then walked out of the interview as O'Donoghue was in the middle of asking him another question.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
