When everything looked set for Portugal to secure World Cup qualification in Lisbon on Sunday night, Aleksandar Mitrovic appeared with a last gasp header to see Serbia leapfrog them in the standings.
The reaction has seen coach Fernando Santos fiercely criticised, highlighting the quality of the squad and the delicate position they now find themselves in.
Portugal will now head to a playoff, where 12 teams will compete for only three spots in Qatar.
Reacting to the result, Cristiano Ronaldo posted on Instagram, having also shown his unhappiness as he raged at Santos on the field after the final whistle.
“Football has shown us time and again that sometimes the path is more torturous but drive us to more desired results,” Cristiano Ronaldo said in the post.
“Yesterday’s result was very hard, but not enough to sink us. Our objective is to get to the 2022 World Cup is still very alive and we know what we have to do to achieve it.
“There’s no excuses, Portugal are going to Qatar.”
In the playoff, Russia, Sweden and North Macedonia will also join them, while one of Italy or Switzerland will be added, and one of The Netherlands, Turkey and Norway.
Portugal went through similar in 2014, when Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Sweden to secure qualification.
Source: https://www.marca.com/en/world-cup/2021/11/15/6192b04d46163fdd608b45e0.html