Everything was different that Tuesday in Porto: the wind had picked up and the Douro, which had poured so quietly into the Atlantic over the previous few days, was now rippling and indecisive. As if a force were resisting the logic of nature. Whoever saw this as a sign that the logic of football could also be undermined on Tuesday evening in Porto’s Estádio do Dragão was disappointed: In the World Cup playoff final, the highly favored Portuguese prevailed against North Macedonia, which was still on Thursday Italy eliminated.
Portugal won 2-0 (1-0) with two goals from Bruno Fernandes and qualified for the World Cup in Qatar. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, faces the fifth World Cup appearance of his career. He draws level with the former German national team captain Lothar Matthäus, among others.
Portugal had already eliminated the Turks on Thursday. Like the Turks, the North Macedonians also appeared in white in the packed Estádio do Dragão, but with one big difference: they performed with an inner conviction that the Turks had lacked. Not even the hint of scenic fear could be discerned. Neither did the ball burn at their feet, nor did they hardly ever open a pass line for the Portuguese. That had its price.
Portugal remains a regular at FIFA World Cups
Under the stony face of their coach, Blagoja Milevski, they were so low that they never had enough people in front of the ball to become a threat. Or: to get the cold sweat on the skin of the Portuguese. It wasn’t dramatic at first. A shot from 14 meters from Cristiano Ronaldo, which just missed the right post (14th minute), and a header from Diogo Jota (24th), which went over the goal, was all that the Portuguese managed offensively. And so it would have continued if North Macedonia’s captain Stefan Ristovski hadn’t given the Portuguese a gift the size of the monumental Arrábida Bridge presiding over the Douro after a good half hour.
Ristovski tried his hand at the right winger on a pass into the center that landed in the feet of Bruno Fernandes. Fernandes played on Ronaldo and the Portugal captain altruistically played him back to Fernandes. The effect: Fernandes was able to calmly pull from the edge of the box and beat goalkeeper Stole Dimitrevski with a low shot to make it 1-0.
The goal gave the Portuguese security, which increased the more long balls the central defenders Pepe and Danilo cleared. Her trepidation, which had just been burning, turned to patience. And they remained dangerous. Diogo Jota hit the side netting in the 41st minute; João Cancelo’s shot went just wide of the left angle at the break.
Again at a big tournament: Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Pepe.
(Photo: Miguel Riopa/AFP)
With the start of the second half, the North Macedonians took a step forward. Now it was the Portuguese who were obsessed with defensive organization and were now waiting for their opponents to make a fatal mistake. He came after 65 minutes. Or: Before the guests had even fired a single shot at the goal recently guarded by Diogo Costa.
Pepe intercepted a North Macedonia attack in his own half and started a counterattack down the left flank. Diogo Jota spotted Bruno Fernandes sprinting into space in the heart of the box and volleying the cross from the penalty spot into the net. Dimitrevski had no chance again. And the game is obviously over in its newly formatted version.
But there was still excitement when in the 78th minute the North Macedonian midfield director, Eljif Elmas, who had been inconspicuous up to that point, took a shot in the Portuguese penalty area and Pepe kept his foot on it. Elmas flew and stayed longer. The penalty whistle, which was vehemently demanded by the guests, did not materialize. Among other things, because the scene also withstood the review by the video referee.
The rest of the game was more like an administrative act than a game. One fact hasn’t changed: The 2016 European champions, Portugal, remain a regular at World Cup football, as they have always done this century. And as always since Cristiano Ronaldo wears the Portugal shirt.