16.11.2021 » The road ahead for Ronaldo to go to the World Cup
Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, suffered a huge setback with a 2-1 defeat against Serbia. This blow denied Portugal a direct qualification to Qatar and they must now play in the European play-off for a long-awaited ticket to the World Cup. The hope for Portugal is to get one of the three playoff spots. This has been a strong setback for the fans and also for many players who have decided to bet on the Portuguese team. In fact, 22 bet's odds were so beneficial with Serbia that it is understood in this way that Portugal was the big favorite. The Portuguese star made his first statement on social media after the defeat. In doing so, he made it clear that the Portuguese players were deeply saddened by the result. In his Instagram account, CR7 wrote: "Football has shown us over and over that sometimes the most tortuous paths are the ones that lead to the most desired results, and yesterday's result was tough, but not enough to sink us."
Cristiano Ronaldo - Skills and goals in 2021:
How do the playoffs continue?
The other 12 teams in the play-offs will have to go through two play-offs to qualify for the World Cup: a semi-final and a final. The mini-tournament is designed to be played in three groups of four participants.
Each group will play two single-set semi-final matches. Home advantage will go to the team that has scored the most points in the group stage. In the case of the finals, they will be played on a neutral ground.
Two Nations League teams will join the 10 participants in this play-off to complete the groups. The place will go to the two winners of the tournament who did not get a direct ticket to the World Cup because they could not finish in the first place.
Which teams will be in the playoffs?
Along with Portugal, in this playoffs there are other very important teams such as Italy, Russia, Sweden, Macedonia and Scotland. In the following days the remaining teams are being defined.
So far, In the European qualifiers, Serbia, Spain, France, Belgium, Denmark, Croatia and Germany have already qualified directly to Qatar 2022.
Despite the tough defeat, the betting site bet.farantube.com still has Portugal as one of the favorites to qualify to the World Cup in Qatar.
How has CR7 fared at the World Cup?
Cristiano Ronaldo is full of titles and records that place him among the greatest in the history of soccer, but the World Cup is the trophy he is missing to get on the podium. Even though he participated in four editions, played 17 matches and scored six goals, he was never able to shine and the best participation of the Lusitanians since he has been part of the team was the fourth place in Germany 2006.
In Qatar 2022, Ronaldo could play in his fifth World Cup and thus catch up with Antonio Carbajal, Lothar Matthäus and Rafa Márquez, the only three players to reach that number. However, in order to do so, he will have to overcome a very tough playoff first.
Portugal may have never won a World Cup tournament in the past, but their recent conquests in the EURO 2016 and the 2019 Nations League certainly made a strong stratement to their rivals and they are still favorites to qualify to the World Cup via the upcoming playoffs, regardless of their opponent.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Manchester United is on November 20, against Watford. You can watch Watford vs Manchester United, Jamaica vs USA, Argentina vs Brazil, Wales vs Belgium, Finland vs France, and Netherlands vs Norway, all matches provided from our live football game pages.
Manchester United next game:
Watford vs Manchester United kick-off time (20-11-2021):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 22:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 21:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 19:30
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+1: 16:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 16:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 15:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 12:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 11:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 08:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / insider.com / espn.com / dw.com
