By Benjamin Wanguba
benjaminwanguba181205@daystar.ac.ke
Photo courtesy: Portugal official Twitter handle
A brace from Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes was enough to secure victory for Portugal in a 2-0 win against North Macedonia. The win secured Portugal’s ticket to the 2022 world cup in Qatar.
Although Portugal were the favorites to win the tie, many were still hopeful North Macedonia would manage to pull a miracle. This is after they managed to beat EURO 2020 champions, Italy in the semi finals of the playoffs. The defeat for The Azzurri means that they will not be featuring at the world cup in November. The tournament which usually takes place in the summer will Instead take place in November when the temperatures will be much cooler as compared to the summer.
This will be the 5th time that Cristiano Ronaldo gets a stab at playing in the world cup. He will be hoping to win the tournament this time round as it is the only competition that has alluded him. Ronaldo is currently 37 years old and thus this could be his last chance of winning the World cup. He has previously had success with the national team, as Portugal won the euros in 2016.
Prior to the match against north Macedonia when he was asked on the possibility of Portugal missing from the world cup he simply responded, “there is no World Cup without Portugal”.
This shows that he clearly meant business and he delivered by combining with his United teammate Bruno for the first goal of the tie.
In the tie played on the 29th march, Poland managed to secure their slot for the world cup by defeating Sweden 2-0. Bayern Munich talisman, Robert Lewandoski managed to get on the scoresheet by scoring a penalty for Poland. The other goal was scored by Piotr Zielinski.