Portugal vs North Macedonia

A spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup is up for the taking as Portugal and high-flying North Macedonia lock horns in the UEFA-zone World Cup qualification play-off dawns at the Estádio do Dragão.

Portugal’s pursuit of their sixth successive World Cup finals appearance has been handed a boost as North Macedonia’s stunning win over Italy removed the reigning European champions from their path to Qatar. Meanwhile, the ‘Selecao’ edge out Turkey 3-1 in their own semi-finals tie, though their performance flattered to deceive. Keen to maintain their eye-catching record of reaching every major tournament in the 21st century, Fernando Santos’ men will draw confidence from their solid seven-game form on home turf (W6, L1). Additionally, since exiting last summer’s Euro 2020, Cristiano Ronaldo and co have netted 2+ goals in four of their five international matches at home, at an average of 2.8 per game. They have also kept North Macedonia goalless in both previous H2Hs (W1, D1).

In the meantime, Aleksandar Trajkovski’s last-gasp winner in Palermo helped the Macedonians squeeze past Italy, reinforcing their bid to qualify for their first World Cup finals as an independent nation. But the ‘Lynxes’ will have to defy the odds once again if they were to advance to the showpiece event later this year. Blagoja Milevski’s men have momentum firmly on their side, having won four of their last five World Cup qualifying matches on the road while netting 3+ goals in three of those victories. Remarkably, two of those triumphs arrived against non-other than Italy and Germany, further solidifying their hopes of staging another upset. Much of North Macedonia’s chances of overcoming Portugal will rest on their defensive stubbornness. After keeping a clean sheet in their last three World Cup qualifiers away from home, Milevski’s team should feel confident.