"Disappointed" Ronaldo confident Portugal will qualify for the World Cup
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo said that his country's 2-1 defeat against his Serbian counterpart on Sunday was "difficult", but stressed that Portugal's hopes of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup "remain great".
Renato Sanchez opened the scoring for Portugal in the second minute, then the Serbian team equalized with a goal by Dusan Tadic in the 33rd minute.
The match almost ended in a draw, but Aleksandar Mitrovic snatched the winning goal for the Serbian team in the last seconds, to win Serbia the top of Group A and qualify directly for the World Cup, while Portugal will participate in the European play-off.
The Portuguese national team, coached by Fernando Santos, will compete in the European play-off next March, and Ronaldo has confirmed that he is still confident that the team will qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.
Ronaldo, 36, said through his account on the “Instagram” application: “Football has shown us many times that sometimes it is the most detour paths that lead to the most desired results.”
He added, "The result of yesterday's match was difficult, but it is not enough to disappoint us. The goal of being in the 2022 World Cup is still very much there, and we know that we must qualify. No excuses. Portugal is coming to Qatar."
Ronaldo scored six goals in seven matches with his country in the European qualifiers, including a goal against Ireland that placed him at the top of the international scorer list, ahead of Iranian Ali Daei.
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