With a spot on the line for what could be his fifth and final World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo needs to avoid an upset like the one that ended Italy바카라s hopes of making it to the tournament in Qatar. (More Football News)
Portugal faces a winner-take-all game on Tuesday against North Macedonia, the team that shocked Italy last week to keep the four-time champions out of the World Cup for the second straight time.
바카라We were surprised,바카라 Ronaldo told SportTV on Monday. 바카라North Macedonia has surprised in many matches. But I don바카라t think they will surprise us tomorrow. Portugal will play better and we will make it to the World Cup.바카라
Portugal is trying to reach its sixth straight World Cup, and Ronaldo is hoping to play in his 10th consecutive major tournament after appearing in four World Cups and five European Championships since 2004.
바카라We know that if we win we will go to the World Cup and if we lose we are out,바카라 he said. 바카라We have the responsibility to be positive and win the match. I see everyone well prepared and wanting to be at their best tomorrow.바카라
Ronaldo is the only player to have scored at least once in the finals of nine top tournaments in a row.
The highest scorer in men바카라s international soccer, Ronaldo would be 41 by the time of the next World Cup if Portugal doesn바카라t qualify to play this year in Qatar.
The Manchester United forward didn바카라t want to talk about the possibility of a World Cup without him.
바카라There is no World Cup without Portugal,바카라 Ronaldo said. 바카라There are no individualities here.바카라
Ronaldo said he is starting to hear repeated questions about his future and made it clear he is the only one who can make a decision on that.
바카라If I feel like playing, I will keep playing,바카라 he said. 바카라If I don바카라t, I won바카라t.바카라
Portugal advanced to the game against North Macedonia by beating Turkey 3-1 in Porto on Thursday, when the visitors squandered an 85th-minute penalty kick that could have erased a two-goal lead from the first half. The Portuguese added their third goal in injury time.
Portugal had been forced into the playoffs after conceding late and relinquishing a lead last year in the final group game against Serbia.
North Macedonia, which gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, is trying to make it to the World Cup final for the first time. It made its first appearance in the European Championship last year.
바카라We are halfway to the World Cup, but we still have another 90 minutes to play and secure qualification,바카라 North Macedonia midfielder Tihomir Kostadinov said. 바카라We are ready to do our best and repeat our performance (against Italy) in Palermo.바카라
Aleksandar Trajkovski바카라s surprising winner against Italy on Thursday came in the second minute of stoppage time in Palermo. North Macedonia had also won at Germany a year ago in its European qualifying group, in which it finished second to the Germans and ahead of Romania.
바카라We can바카라t go into the game thinking North Macedonia is the weaker team,바카라 Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. 바카라We have to prepare to face North Macedonia the same way we would prepare if we had to face Italy바카라
Santos will have a more complete squad for the match at the EstĂĄdio do DragĂŁo in Porto as defenders Pepe and JoĂŁo Cancelo are back after missing the game against Turkey. Pepe had tested positive for COVID-19, while Cancelo was suspended.
