November 15, (THEWILL) – Aleksandar Mitrovic came off the bench to score a thrilling injury-time goal to upset Portugal and see Serbia qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
In the first half, Renato Sanches’ second-minute goal was cancelled out by a Dusan Tadic equaliser from outside the box, which was considerably aided by a Rui Patricio error.
Serbia found a thrilling last-gasp winner through the Fulham striker, Mitrovic, whose far post header hushed the shell-shocked fans inside the Estadio da Luz with just seconds left in the match.
Nemanja Gudelj was stopped on the ball just outside his own box by Silva in the second minute, giving Portugal the chance to take the lead. He teed Sanches up, and the latter dashed through an open gap in the Serbia backline before firing into the bottom corner.
Dusan Vlahovic, who started ahead of the in-form Mitrovic, struck the inside of the post before shooting a rebound over the bar as the first half progressed.
Serbia was comfortably winning the possession contest, and in the 33rd minute, Patricio made a blunder of his own, resulting in a merited equaliser. Tadic’s strike from the edge of the box looked like it would be caught by Roma’s goalkeeper, but it crawled past his hands and crept over the line, giving the visitors hope of winning the group.
Sanches was sent clear through following a quick counter-attack in the 56th minute, but he could not cleanly dink the ball past goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic to give Portugal the lead.
Substitute Mitrovic missed a near-post header in the 82nd minute of a messy second half, but he grabbed his goal in the last seconds. He slipped in at the far post to nod in Tadic’s devastating cross, setting off a flurry of Serbian celebrations for what is in Serbian football history, one of the most memorable nights.
Serbia took the lead in Group A with a total of 20 points. Portugal, on 17 points, will have to make do with a playoff berth.
The Portuguese had appeared to be invincible throughout, but they paid the price for their complacency not only in this game, but also in their goalless draw against Republic of Ireland on Thursday. Not even the trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota and Bernardo Silva could do anything about it.
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.
