In nine out of ten games, Portugal would surely come on top faced with North Macedonia, but tonight’s match is anything but regular.It’s a do-or-die FIFA World Cup Qualifiers playoff fixture, a single leg, that will see the winner going to Qatar and the loser… well, it depends who’ll be defeated.If the Balkans’ underdogs suffer a much-expected loss at the Dragao Stadium in Porto, they’ll be sad but at the same time proud for punching well above their weight in this campaign. Reaching this very ultimate stage is an enormous success for the tiny country that hasn’t got a single star in its squad.Still, this die-hard slot has already managed to trump one colossus on their ground – Italy in Palermo in the semifinals of this playoffs. Moreover, exactly a year ago, North Macedonians stunned none other than Germany on their ground 2-1, which definitely proves they are of a different ilk – created and guided to top those favourites. A proper giantsbusters!Mamma mia! European Champions are missing the second World Cup in a rowOn the other hand, Portugal were dejected for their stoppage-time loss to Serbia in the final seconds of the group stage, which sent them to the playoffs instead directly to the Qatari desert.Serbian Sensation! Mitrogol scores 90th-minute winner to spoil Ronaldo’s chances of making QatarOnce there, in the playoffs, Cristiano and his colleagues were privileged enough to play that semifinal one-leg tie at Lisbon against Turkey. And things were going smoothly for the favourites, with 2-0 on the scoreboard, before the visitors bounced back in style. Burak Yilmaz was given the late opportunity from the spot to tie the game at two just a few minutes before the final whistle and send the fixture to overtime. Alas, he launched it over the bar, and Portugal went on to win 3-1, and reach the showdown.Late penalty miss sends Turkish striker straight to retirementAs we said in the beginning, all the odds are on their side, and it would be devastating for them if things somehow went wrong. Offensive-minded Fernando Santos’ squad will probably look for an early goal that would loosen up the pressure on them and kill the game well before the ultimate phase.But this is football, and sometimes it’s so unpredictable that you have to adore it. Even more than CR7.WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS – EUROPETuesday21.45: (1.23) Portugal (7.00) North Macedonia (14.0)21.45: (2.60) Poland (3.00) Sweden (3.25)Russia – Poland AWARDEDScotland – Ukraine POSTPONED
