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Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to start when Portugal take on North Macedonia in the playoff final of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers tonight. The winner of the game will book a place in this year's showpiece tournament in Qatar.
Portugal secured a routine 3-1 win over Turkey in the playoff semi-finals to earn a place in the final. Goals from Otavio, Diogo Jota, and Matheus Nunes were enough for them to book a meeting with North Macedonia. Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes against Turkey. However, he failed to make a single goal contribution.
North Macedonia, on the other hand, secured a shock 1-0 win over Euro 2020 winners Italy after winger Aleksandar Trajkovski scored a stoppage-time winner.
Portugal are now just one game away from qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. They will be looking to their captain Ronaldo for inspiration. The 37-year-old could be partnered alongside the two goalscorers from the last match, Diogo Jota and Otavio, in attack.
It is worth mentioning that Ronaldo has faced North Macedonia just once in his international career. This was back in 2012 in an international friendly that ended in a goalless draw.
Ronaldo will be looking to guide his national team to their sixth consecutive World Cup. He has featured in the last four editions of the tournament, with the 2006 World Cup in Germany being his first. Portugal reached the semi-finals on that occasion but were beaten by France.
This is the closest Ronaldo has ever gotten to winning the World Cup. Since 2006, Portugal have suffered two defeats in the Round of 16 stage (2010, 2018). They also exited the competition at the group phase in 2014.
How has Cristiano Ronaldo performed for Portugal in World Cup Qualifiers campaign?
Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of Portugal's best players in the World Cup Qualifiers campaign. The Manchester United forward has netted six times in the group phase, including a hat-trick against Luxembourg in October last year.
Ronaldo also netted two late goals against the Republic of Ireland to secure a 2-1 comeback win in September. The forward had a penalty saved in that game before he netted an injury-time winner to secure all three points.
Despite Ronaldo's best efforts, Portugal finished runners-up to Serbia in the group stages. This deprived them of automatic qualification.
