March 25, (THEWILL) – On a Thursday night that saw the North Macedonians upset European champions, Italy out of a World Cup ticket, Portugal overcame a tremendous late scare to advance to the World Cup qualifying playoff final at the cost of Turkey.
The match played at Porto’s Estadio Dragao, saw the hosts dominating the opening exchanges and taking the lead after just 15 minutes.
Diogo Jota could have opened the score earlier when he met Bruno Fernandes’ beautiful free kick from three yards out, but he somehow managed to lift the ball over. A minute later, Cristiano Ronaldo slammed a shot from the edge of the penalty area straight at the goalkeeper.
However, the goal arrived after a quarter of an hour. Bernardo Silva’s dipping drive came back off the inside of the post, but returning Brazilian Otavio was there waiting to squeak the opener past the keeper.
After that strike, Portugal appeared to become comfortable, with the Selecao handing over possession easily and inviting pressure. Midway through the half, they were almost punished when Berkan Kutlu’s header went just wide, and five minutes later, Diogo Costa was called into action to tip Orkun Kokcu’s whizzing effort around the post.
As the game progressed, Portugal reasserted their dominance, and shortly before the break, they doubled their lead. Jota made up for his previous blunder by rising elegantly to meet Otavio’s chipped cross and sending a thunderous, thumping header inside the near post.
After the break, Fernando Santos’ side continued to dominate, with Silva challenging Ugurcan Cakir from the edge of the box before Jota hoisted a long-range dink over the goalkeeper, who was caught wanting.
Portugal came dangerously close to capitulating in the final 25 minutes, exactly as they had done in their final qualifying encounter against Serbia to earn a place in this playoffs situation in the first place.
Burak Yilmaz rounded off a slick passing move with a low finish inside the box, and Turkey grabbed one back from out of nowhere.
After a VAR intervention, the referee reviewed the pitch-side monitor and awarded Jose Fonte a penalty with just seven minutes remaining, penalising the veteran defender for booting Enes Unal’s foot.
Yilmaz took a step forward, but his spot-kick was deflected over the crossbar by a slight nudge off the crossbar.
The drama was far from over. Portugal broke into an attack after Ronaldo missed a sitter in stoppage time, and substitutes Raphael Leao and Matheus Nunes combined for the latter to sneak a fine finish past the goalkeeper and eventually seal the win.
There was even time for Ronaldo to hit the woodwork with the goal at his mercy for the game’s final kick.
er, who was caught wanting.
Portugal came dangerously close to capitulating in the final 25 minutes, exactly as they had done in their final qualifying encounter against Serbia to earn a place in this playoffs situation in the first place.
Burak Yilmaz rounded off a slick passing move with a low finish inside the box, and Turkey grabbed one back from out of nowhere.
After a VAR intervention, the referee reviewed the pitch-side monitor and awarded Jose Fonte a penalty with just seven minutes remaining, penalising the veteran defender for booting Enes Unal’s foot.
Yilmaz took a step forward, but his spot-kick was deflected over the crossbar by a slight nudge off the crossbar.
The drama was far from over. Portugal broke into an attack after Ronaldo missed a sitter in stoppage time, and substitutes Raphael Leao and Matheus Nunes combined for the latter to sneak a fine finish past the goalkeeper and eventually seal the win.
There was even time for Ronaldo to hit the woodwork with the goal at his mercy for the game’s final kick.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
