Cristiano Ronaldo insists that Portugal is in its “justification” after his country closed its place in the 2022 World Cup. Having seen Italy suffer a shock defeat by Northern Macedonia last week to lose an appearance in Qatar, Portugal wanted to avoid the same fate. Portugal beat Turkey 3-1 on Thursday to host a match against Northern Macedonia this afternoon and Bruno Fernandez’s 2-0 win secured a 2-0 World Cup qualifier later this year. “The goal has been achieved, we are in the Qatar World Cup, we are in the position we deserve!” Ronaldo made a post on Instagram. “I thank all the Portuguese for their tireless support! Força Portugal! The victory for Portugal means that it has now qualified for the sixth consecutive World Cup and the 37-year-old Ronaldo now seems ready to go to the tournament for the fifth and possibly last time when it starts in November. Portugal coach Fernando Santos has already led his team to the glory of Euro 2016 and 2019 in the Nations League and will now hope to add to his impressive World Cup trophies. “I have already won two competitions and I hope to win the third in Qatar,” he said. “There was a spirit of mutual help and great support from the public. “It was a worthy and fair victory and qualification. I do not remember big situations in the goal for their team “. Portugal will probably be among the top players when the official draw for the World Cup takes place on Friday.
More: Manchester United FC
While players like Ronaldo and Fernandes led their team to victory tonight by combining for the former, the latter insists that ensuring the country’s qualification was the most important factor. “The most important thing is that Portugal won,” Fernandez said. “Everyone has ambitions, Cristiano and I are no exception. Usually he also scores assists, but today it was the other way around. “For me, the most important thing is to help the team – if possible with goals. Of course we all like to score in every game, whether it is the most important or the least important. “I have in mind the ideas of our coach and that is probably why I achieved this double, doing what the coach asks me to do.” MORE: Wayne Rooney calls his former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo “annoying”, Rio Ferdinand “arrogant” and says Carlos Tevez was his “biggest disappointment”. MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo responds positively to retirement discussions For more stories like this, check out our sports page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
