Crunch Clash. Portugal must beat Turkey at Estadio do Dragao in Porto today, and the winner of the tie between Italy and North Macedonia in a do-or-die contest five days later, to secure their World Cup spot.
The 37-year-old Manchester United star will be desperate to qualify for what could be his last World Cup, but his nation’s hopes of punching their ticket to Qatar hang in the balance.
Cristiano Ronaldo has issued a rallying cry to his Portugal team-mates ahead of their crunch World Cup play-off semi-final against Turkey this week - and vowed to ‘fight’ for the country’s ‘rightful place’ at this year’s tournament in Qatar. The 37-year-old Manchester United star will be desperate to qualify for what could be his last World Cup, but his nation’s hopes of punching their ticket to Qatar hang in the balance. Portugal must beat Turkey at Estadio do Dragao in Porto today, and then the winner of the tie between Italy and North Macedonia in a do-or-die contest five days later, to secure their World Cup spot. The 2016 European champions were forced into the perils of the play-off route after finishing second in their qualification group following a 2-1 loss to Serbia - who went through automatically - in the last round of matches in November. ‘Total focus on the 2022 World Cup,’ Ronaldo said on Instagram. ‘Proud, as always, to represent Portugal. ‘We know that the path will not be easy, we have the utmost respect for the opponents we will face and who share the same goals as us. ‘But together, we will fight to put Portugal in its rightful place. Let’s do it.’ Portugal failing to book a place at the event in Qatar could spell the end of Ronaldo’s international career, which has spanned four World Cups. He will be 41 by the time of the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico and ensuring he is granted a World Cup swansong in Qatar seems more of a preoccupation in Portugal than actually getting there. Ronaldo puzzle There have been suggestions, however, that Portugal would be better off without Ronaldo - despite the fact the team have not lost a game with him in the team since September 2014. Portugal hammered Croatia 4-1 without Ronaldo in a Nations League game in September 2020, which many Portuguese journalists considered the best performance in the eight years coach Fernando Santos has been at the helm. Ronaldo has also failed to hit his usual heights for United since making a sensational return to Old Trafford last summer, with fans and pundits often questioning his value to the team. Santos, who said he still sees Ronaldo as a key part of his side, claimed the coming days are the ‘most i ‘We must be in the World Cup for our people,’ Santos said. ‘The tickets were sold out in minutes more than a month ago. Our fans will be a major factor and we can’t let them down.’ Portugal have been dealt a blow in the build-up to the Turkey match after defender Pepe was ruled out due to testing positive for Covid-19. Today’s fixtures – 10.45pm Italy vs. North Macedonia Portugal vs. Turkey Sweden vs. Czech Rep Wales vs. Austria
