Half of the work is done, and only one game separates the Portuguese from their participation in the World Cup in Qatar. Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates won tonight in the first WQ playoff match, while the unlucky losers go home: Portugal – Turkey 3-1. Fernando Santos’ players justified the role of the favorite, and for most of the match seemed ready for the final march towards the World Cup. Instead of the Benfica stadium, the Portuguese chose the Porto facility for the home field and they were right.🇵🇱 Poland v Sweden 🇸🇪🇲🇰 North Macedonia v Portugal 🇵🇹Who’s going to the World Cup? 🏆 pic.twitter.com/V4COQ5b15q— GOAL News (@GoalNews) March 24, 2022 Otavio, the scorer of the first goal and Porto player, has grown into the main creator of the Portuguese team this season, and he transferred his skill from the club (12 assists) to the national team level, directing the Portuguese towards the finals of the playoffs with his two move in the first half. He scored the first goal after Bernardo Silva shook the goalpost and then assisted Diogo Jota for a comfortable advantage by halftime. But Turkey captain Burak Yilmaz first scored a goal for the discomfort of the hosts in the 65th minute, and then his teammate from Lille Jose Fonte made a foul inside the penalty area. Porto stadium froze for a second, before erupting like a volcano when Yilmaz missed the whole goal and ruined Turkey’s chance for overtime and possible drama in the end. The guests were totally distracted from the penalty miss and allowed the third goal in injury time for the final 3-1.WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS – EUROPEThursdaySweden – Czech R. 1-0 (0-0)/Quaison 110/Italy – North Macedonia 0-1 (0-0)/Trajkovski 90+2/Wales – Austria 2-1 (1-0)/Bale 25, 51 – Sabitzer 64/Portugal – Turkey 3-1 (2-0)/Otavio 15, Jota 42, Nunes 90+4 – Yilmaz 65/Russia – Poland AWARDEDScotland – Ukraine POSTPONED
