“Yesterday’s result not enough to bring us down,” vows Cristiano Ronaldo after missing out on direct qualification to the 2022 World Cup

“Yesterday’s result not enough to bring us down,” vows Cristiano Ronaldo after missing out on direct qualification to the 2022 World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal have failed to get a direct entry into the World Cup next year after they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat against Serbia in their final World Cup qualifying encounter at home. Serbia scored in the 91st minute of the match to take the top spot and made their way into the marquee event ahead of the EURO 2016 winners, Portugal.

Portugal only needed a draw to qualify, but having failed to do so, they will now have to do it in a hard way in order to make their place in the World Cup next year, to give Cristiano Ronaldo probably a final shot at the elusive World Cup trophy with his country in Qatar next year. They will now enter the play-off stages alongside the other 9 second-placed teams from Europe, from which only 3 three would find a place in the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will have to go through the playoff rounds to secure qualification into the World Cup

Ronaldo disappointed with the result
Ronaldo disappointed with the result

However, despite the tough road which awaits them, Cristiano Ronaldo is not a man to get bogged down after a single defeat especially when he knows that there is light always at the end of the tunnel.

The Portuguese superstar was visibly devasted right after Portugal conceded the goal in the 91st minute, but he seems to have shaken that off at the end of the night and posted a motivating message for all his fans and teammates urging them to bring out their A-game in the play-offs to attain their goal. He finished off the post by saying “Portugal bound for Qatar.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo took to his official social media accounts to write, “Football has shown us time and again that sometimes it’s the winding roads that lead us to the most desired wrecks. Yesterday’s result was tough, but not enough to bring us down. The goal of attending the World Cup 2022 is still very much alive and we know what we have to do to get there. No excuses. Portugal bound for Qatar.”

Also Read: 2022 World Cup Qualifiers: Portugal vs Serbia Player Ratings as Serbia stun Portugal 2-1