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Cristiano Ronaldo has taken to Instagram to motivate his teammates after Portugal suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Serbia in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Portugal and Serbia were involved in an intense showdown for the World Cup qualification, as both sides were level on 17 points prior to their clash.
Serbia's Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a late winner to deny Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal an automatic berth in next year's tournament in Qatar.
Following their disappointment, Ronaldo took to Instagram to post a motivational message. The 36-year-old stated that defeat will not get his team down and added that they will continue to strive hard to qualify for the tournament in Qatar.
In his Instagram post, Cristiano Ronaldo wrote:
"Football has shown us time and time again that, at times, it is the most winding paths that lead to the most desired outcomes. Yesterday's result was tough, but not enough to get us down. The objective of being present at the 2022 World Cup is still very much alive and we know what we have to do to get there. No excuses. Portugal heading to Qatar."
If Portugal want to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they will have to get through the playoffs. The Euro 2016 winners have made it through to the world stage for five consecutive years, with Cristiano Ronaldo featuring in four of those editions.
Portugal will turn to Cristiano Ronaldo for rally through the playoffs
Portugal will once again turn to Cristiano Ronaldo to motivate them and help them qualify for next year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The forward was Portugal's leading goal scorer in the group stages of the qualifying campaign, having netted six times. This included a hat-trick against Luxembourg and two late strikes against the Republic of Ireland.
Cristiano Ronaldo has previously guided Portugal through a playoff win back in 2013. The then-Real Madrid star netted a hat-trick against Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Sweden to send his side through to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Ronaldo has had a successful playing career with Portugal. He has scored 115 goals in 184 caps for the national team, which includes 10 hat-tricks, both being world records on the international stage.
It is worth noting that the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the last chance for Cristiano Ronaldo to lift the elusive trophy with his national team.
