WC 2022 qualifiers: Portugal beats North Macedonia to qualify for World Cup

Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Portugal beat stubborn visitors North Macedonia 2-0 to qualify for the World Cup finals in Qatar after a tense European playoff tie on Tuesday.

Roared on by 50,000 fans at a sold-out Dragão Stadium in Porto, Portugal dominated the game from the start but struggled to break down a strong defence, managing only three shots on target despite having almost 70% possession.

Fernandes opened the scoring after half an hour after intercepting a pass by his best friend, North Macedonia captain Stefan Ristovski, working a great one-two with Cristiano Ronaldo before whipping his shot past the goalkeeper.

The 27-year-old attacking midfielder sealed Portugal’s win in the 65th minute, striking home a close-range volley from a Diogo Jota cross.

Fernando Santos’s team then ran down the clock, celebrating at the final whistle with their joyful fans who remained in the stands for more than 15 minutes after the game, singing as the players completed a victory lap holding a huge Portugal flag.

Portugal, who won the 2016 European Championship in France, qualified for a sixth straight World Cup finals and have not missed a major international competition in more than 20 years. The last tournament they failed to reach was France 98. Portugal also won the Nations League in 2019.

Santos said: “I don’t care about individual accomplishments but this display will be one to remember because it helped my country to reach a World Cup. I have already won two competitions and I hope I can win the third one in Qatar.

“There was a spirit of mutual help and great support from the public. It was a deserved and fair win and qualification. I don’t remember any great goalscoring situations for their team.”

Portugal were pushed into the playoffs after finishing second in Group A, having lost their final game at home to Serbia 2-1 last November.

That had left them needing to win two consecutive elimination games to qualify, with last week’s win over Turkey, where they survived late drama, setting up a decider against North Macedonia, who had stunned Italy in their opening match.

It was a nervous occasion on Tuesday but Portugal dominated and avoided any surprises from the underdogs, who did not have a shot on target.