In the early morning of March 30, Beijing time, Portugal will host the dark horse North Macedonia in the final of the World Cup European Zone play-offs. As a veteran of the Portuguese team, the importance of this game to Cristiano Ronaldo is self-evident.
Before the match, C Ronaldo attended the pre-match press conference as captain, and he was very surprised that the opponent of the game was North Macedonia, not Italy.
"The opponent (not Italy) surprised me. But we will definitely win. ”
Cristiano Ronaldo even called on all Portuguese fans at the scene to sing the national anthem for the team.
At the press conference, C Luo made a prediction for this life-and-death battle.
"Tomorrow's game is a final, a game of life. We have a responsibility to be optimistic and a responsibility to win the game. "They (North Macedonia) have won a lot of games, but I'm sure tomorrow they won't surprise us because Portugal will be the better side and we'll qualify for the World Cup." ”
When it comes to match opponents, Cristiano Ronaldo believes that the strength of North Macedonia cannot be ignored.
"North Macedonia is an effectively organized team and we have a lot of respect for them. However, if we are at the best level, we can beat any team in the world. ”
Portugal will have the home side as a result of the home games.
"To the Portuguese fans, I call on you to sing the national anthem as you did [against Turkey]. What I'm saying is serious, we don't want to accompany, sing the national anthem together without music, show our determination and enterprising, and I'm sure that if all the Portuguese and we stand together, as they did last Thursday, we will win this game. ”
Historically, Portugal and North Macedonia have never met in an official match. However, as a dark horse, North Macedonia has the strength to defeat strong opponents, such as overthrowing Germany in the group stage of the World Preliminary Round and eliminating Italy in the play-offs.
Facing Portugal at home, North Macedonia wants to continue its dark horse journey and achieve its first feat of reaching the World Cup, while Portugal's advantage against the barrel formation seems to be more pronounced than that of European champions Italy.
In the last game, Portugal won 3:1 at home to Turkey and successfully passed the barrier. The forward line led by C Ronaldo involved the opponent's strength, and finally with the three goals of Jota, Otavio and Nunes, they gnawed this hard bone. In this game, the return of Canselo and Pepe alleviated coach Santos' defensive worries, believing that Portugal could dominate the game against North Macedonia.