ANKARA – A Bruno Fernandes double gave Portugal a 2-0 win against North Macedonia in the European Qualifiers playoff final Tuesday to send them to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
Portugal scored the opener in the 32nd at Porto’s Dragao Stadium after Manchester United star Fernandes intercepted the ball in midfield.
The Portuguese midfielder made a one-two with his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and then Fernandes entered the area to fire a shot that beat North Macedonian goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.
Home team Portugal led the first half 1-0.
Fernando Santos’ men made it 2-0 in the 65th minute as Fernandes scored another goal from short distance on a counter attack.
The Portuguese national team’s 2-0 win earned them a spot at Qatar 2022. Meanwhile, North Macedonia’s fairy tale ended in the playoff final.
North Macedonia shocked UEFA EURO 2020 champions Italy 1-0 last week to face Portugal.
Portugal have been a World Cup mainstay since 2002. North Macedonia have never been in the World Cup finals.
Meanwhile, Turkiye, who were previously eliminated by Portugal 3-1, lost to Italy 3-2 in a friendly match Tuesday at MEDAS Konya Buyuksehir Stadium in the Turkish city of Konya.
Cengiz Under and Serdar Dursun were the scorers for Turkiye.
Italy’s Bryan Cristante and Giacomo Raspadori (2) scored for the visitors.
The 2022 World Cup will be held Nov 21 to Dec 18 with 32 teams in eight groups.
