Portugal finished behind Serbia in their qualifying group, Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates will play Italy for a place in the 2022 Qatar World Cup
By Kehinde Okeowo
Cristiano Ronaldo is angry that Portugal finished second in their World Cup qualification group behind Serbia and are now expected to clash with Italy in a double-header playoff to earn a spot at the world soccer event.
This revelation was made by his Manchester United teammate, Fred, who said he and Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about it after the last game of the qualifier was played.
Portugal who recently lost their European crown to Italy must now win the two playoff matches against the same opposition if they are to join other countries at the soccer fiesta later this year.
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Either European champions Italy or Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will miss out on the 2022 World Cup after being drawn in the same playoff path.
Fernando Santos’ men got into the difficult position after losing 2-1 in the crucial final qualifying match against Serbia as they ended three points behind the Group A leaders.
Fred told Eurosport, that the 32-year-old Ronaldo is experienced and will be able to lead his teammate to scale through the World Cup playoff.
He went on to say his desire to win games at all times will be the motivation to secure a ticket for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
He said, ” We talk a little bit about this. Of course, he is very upset about not qualifying directly for the World Cup,
“But, as a great player and as their captain, he knows how to prepare his teammates in order to qualify. Obviously, he was very upset, but he will work hard to be at the World Cup.
“Everybody knows that he wants to win everything, every time. So rest assured he will work hard to be at this World Cup.”