Cristiano Ronaldo state that Serbia’s 2-1 defeat on Sunday was “difficult” but vowed that Portugal’s hopes of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup “are still very much alive.”
In addition to Renato Sanches’ first goal in Lisbon, Dusan Tadic’s equalizer and Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header in the 90th minute saw Serbia leap against Portugal to win Group A World Cup qualifiers.
Fernando Santos’ men now have to advance to the play-offs in March if they want to enter the show, although captain Ronaldo has confirmed he still believes his team will qualify for Qatar.
“Football has shown us many times that, at times, it is a bumpy road that leads to the most desirable results,” CR7 wrote on Instagram.
“Yesterday’s result was difficult, but it was not enough to bring us down. The goal of being in the 2022 World Cup is still alive and we know what we have to do to get there. There are no excuses. Portugal is headed there. Qatar.”
Portugal 1-2 Serbia: A Euro WCQ’s night match saw Serbia win the final minutes and earn a place in the 2022 WC final by losing to Portugal in a strong partnership in Lisbon.
Portugal coach Santos downplayed Ronaldo’s actions after the defeat, stressing that his captain was referring to a March match in Belgrade, in which the Manchester United striker was not given a temporary goal despite the ball appearing to cross the line. in a 2-2 draw.
“No one explained anything,” Santos told reporters when asked about Ronaldo. “He was telling another boy that he [in Serbia] had scored in the last minute and that the referee was not counting.
“That was what he was saying at the time. It was not a matter of us being here now.
