PORTUGAL TAKES ONE STEP CLOSER TO WORLD CUP 2022 AS THEY BEAT TURKEY 3-1

I have been following and supporting Cristiano Ronaldo for quite a while now and trust me when I say this, the last 4 years have not been easy at all. Ever since he left Real Madrid, neither of them have been the same and things have gone downhill for Ronaldo.

However, it hit rock bottom when Ronaldo's goal against Serbia was wrongly disallowed and Portugal's spot in the World Cup 2022 came in jeopardy. It would be heartbreaking to see one of the greatest players of all time miss out on the last World Cup of his career due to an unfair refereeing decision. As a football fan and an ardent Ronaldo supporter, there's nothing I want more than for Portugal to qualify for this World Cup. I have been quite anxious ever since the draw came out and it was decided that Portugal would have to play against Turkey and if they would win that match, they would face either North Macedonia or the current Euro Champions Italy. I have been praying for this and I guess the footballing Gods may have heard it. Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal won their game against the Turks on Thursday night as they take one step closer towards the Qatar World Cup 2022. Ronaldo didn't get on the scoresheet, however, I couldn't care less about that right now.

The match started with Portugal seemingly the brighter side as they came out attacking to find an early goal. And well they did that as Otávio scored the opening goal in the 15th minute. Jota couldn't find space for a shot, so he squared it to Bernardo on the edge of the box, but his shot rebounded back off the post. Otávio reacted the quickest in the crowded box and hit the ball into the back of the net.

The Turks seemed quite nervous in the first half as they were losing possession left, right and centre. Just before the halftime whistle, Jota scored a goal to give his side a 2-0 lead. Portugal kept Turkey penned back inside their own box Moutinho picked out Otávio on the right. He lifted a delightful cross into the box and Jota, who timed his run perfectly, drifts away at the far post and nods his header down into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

A 2-0 lead in the first half really gave me a sigh of relief and confidence, however, little did I know that I was in for a rollercoaster for the next 45 minutes. Turkey switched gears and looked much more confident in the 2nd half as they exposed Portugal's backline on several occasions. And in the 65th minute, Burak Yilmaz scored a goal to bring his side back into the game. The game was on!

João Felix was subbed on for Diogo Jota which made Portugal's attack much smoother. As good as he has been for Liverpool, Jota really messes up quite a lot for Portugal. His tunnel vision frustrates me. I mean just  PASS THE DAMN BALL !!

Anyways, in the 85th minute I really lost it when a penalty was given to Turkey for an extremely clumsy challenge from Fonte. Unal kicked the ball up and Fonte hit the bottom of his foot in a late attempt at a clearance. 5 minutes were left and Yilmaz had a clear chance to bring his team level. However, as I said, the footballing Gods had been listening to my prayers and as a result, Yilmaz hit the crossbar from the penalty spot. I have to say, it was an awful penalty from Turkey's captain. 

90 minutes were over and 4 minutes of extra time were added on. Portugal was in complete control and ended up scoring another goal to make it 3-1. Turkey's freekick was cleared by Pereira and Portugal were on a deadly counter attack. Leao played it through to Matheus who knocks it around Calik and slots it into the back of the empty net.

Just 2 minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo had his chance to get on the scoresheet, however, he hit the crossbar. I guess, it just wasn't his day. The referee blew the final whistle and I took a sigh of relief. It was far from a convincing win from Portugal and Fernando Santos has to do better with level of squad that is there at his disposal.

This night got even better for Portugal when North Macedonia knocked out Italy from the playoffs, which means Portugal will face North Macedonia in the playoff final on Tuesday night. With all due respect to North Macedonia, I have to say Portugal has more than enough capability to win against the Macedonians. However, the one thing that I've learned from football is to never say never!