Can North Macedonia reach the World Cup Finals?
by Valeria Di Meglio |
Can North Macedonia reach the World Cup Finals?
When the draw was made for the World Cup play-offs, it produced one shocking fact. Either Italy or Portugal would miss out on the 2022 finals in Qater. Now that situation has changed and both of those highly rannked countries might fail to qualify. That's because North Macedonia caused a massive upset by going to Italy for their semi-final and winning 1-0. Can they now beat Portugal in Porto on March 29 to book their place in Qatar?
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North Macedonia have never played in the finals of the World Cup. They did get to the finals of Euro 2020 (21) but finished bottom of their group after losing all three of their games. That performance was a bit disappointing considering their early form in the World Cup qualifiers.
March 2021 had seen North Macedonia cause one of the biggest shocks of all time in World Cup qualifiers. They won 2-1 in Germany and went on to finish second in their group just ahead of Romania. Only two of their 10 group matches were lost, a home defeat by Germany and their opening 3-2 loss in Romania. They managed to secure second place despite failing to score in three of their home games. 10 of their 18 points were earned on the road, so hosting North Macedonia is not an easy task.
That saw them reach the play-offs but when drawn away to Italy with the winners up against either Portugal or Turkey in the final, qualification hopes weren't that high. However, this is a team that knows how to cause a big surprise. The game in Italy looked to be heading for extra time with the score still goalless going into second half injury time. Up popped Aleksandar Trajkoski to score a shock winner for North Macedonia in the 92nd minute and knock the European champions out of the 2022 World Cup. That was the third successive World Cup away qualifier in which North Macedonia have kept a clean sheet. Can they do that against Portugal and make it to Qatar?
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Portugal Out to Deny North Macedonia
A World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo? Well, that will happen if North Macedonia have their way. The 2022 World Cup finals are more than likely to be the last time we'd see the legendary player appear in the event but can Portugal get through?
They finished second in Group A but really should have avoided all this play-off nonsense. Portugal were the group leaders and went into their final qualifier still to lose a game. They had dropped points when only drawing in Ireland in their penultimate fixture. That left them top but only on goal difference from second placed Serbia who they just happened to play at home in their final match.
When Renato Sanchez gave Portugal a second minute lead, they looked on their way to Qatar. However, Serbia equalized in the 33rd minute to give the visitors some hope of qualifying. Going into the 90th minute it was still 1-1 but then Mitrovic scored for Serbia and they hung on to win 2-1 and win the group.
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That left Portugal in second place and into the play-offs. There was good and bad news for the Portuguese when the draw was made. The good news was both their semi-final and final would be played on home soil. However, there was the distinct possibility of having to play Italy in the final until North Macedonia caused that big shock.
Portugal had a comfortable 3-1 home win over Turkey in their semi-final. and will be confident of avoiding missing the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998. Can they do it though? Their home record is impressive but don't forget that Serbia beat them. North Macedonia will have their confidence sky high after beating Italy. March 29 promises to be a great night in Porto but will it be the best ever evening for North Macedonian football?
