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Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has put up an inspirational message for his teammates ahead of their crucial World Cup play-off against Turkey. The Seleccao host the Crescent-Stars in Porto on Thursday with the winner going into the finals of Path C, where they will face either Italy or North Macedonia next week.
The Qatar showpiece is likely going to be the 37-year-old's last and he's aiming for a memorable swansong on the world stage. But the path to get there is tricky as the Azzurri, the reigning European champions, are battling to return to the World Cup after missing out on the 2018 edition in Russia.
Ronaldo and co could miss their flight to the tournament altogether, but he's trying to get the spirit of his team up ahead of Thursday's encounter. On his official Instagram handle, he wrote:
"We focus on the World Cup, proud to represent Portugal, we know that the road will not be easy, we respect the opponents we will face & who share the same goals & ambition, but we will struggle together to put Portugal in its right place."
Portugal have qualified for every single World Cup since 2002, with Ronaldo playing in all four of those. Since their semi-final appearance in 2006, they have not gone beyond the last-16, while also being eliminated in the group stages of the 2014 edition.
In the tournament's last edition, he was in great form, scoring four goals, including a hat-trick against Spain in their opening game, but couldn't help them to a win against Uruguay in the pre-quarters.
Ronaldo facing two most important games of his international career
Ronaldo will be well into his 40s by the time the next World Cup rolls around, making this one the Manchester United star's last shot at the cup.
To even get that chance, he will have to face a pair of daunting fixtures, first against Turkey, and then possibly against Italy, who are likely to defeat North Macedonia in the other play-off game.
Italy were famously beaten by Sweden in the 2018 World Cup play-offs, making it the first time in 60 years that they failed to qualify.
Missing another tournament would be unthinkable for them and Roberto Mancini's side will go all guns blazing in the play-off.
Ronaldo has neither scored against Turkey nor Italy in his career before, so the pressure riding on him is enormous.
