Portugal to edge out North Macedonia for WC spot
A place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup is on offer for the winners of the Portugal-North Macedonia play-off final on Tuesday night at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto. The hosts triumphed 3-1 against a wasteful Turkey last week to set up this fixture, and veteran head coach Fernando Santos is unlikely to underestimate his side's opponents in the same way European champions Italy did, missing out on a second consecutive global tournament in the process. Read our preview here:
A higher Otávio
With no injury concerns at the time of writing, Santos has a free hand to stick or twist with the XI that started several days ago. Whilst Cristiano Ronaldo will naturally always be the focus of A Seleção so long as he hasn't retired, the supporting cast were once again the main orchestrators of their passage through to this final. Otávio scored and assisted to build up their lead, and the versatile wide forward will be looking to add to his tally with more incisiveness against the underdogs. João Cancelo, having served his suspension, could come in at right-back.
Stole their hearts
Gli Azzurri had the bulk of the opportunities, but poor finishing cost them in the end. A similar defensive approach is almost certain to be replicated by Blagoja Milevski, who has only lost once (to Germany) since taking the reins following their first ever major tournament participation at the delayed Euro 2020 last summer. Goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski stood up brilliantly to everything that was thrown at him, and will be required to do precisely the same once more to maximise his side's chances of progression. Napoli's versatile Eljif Elmas will be back from suspension in a midfield three that will match their hosts' shape.
Betting tip
Though the bookies heavily favour Portugal, a first ever World Cup for North Macedonia, despite the comparative gulf in quality on paper, is not out of the question. The home team will need to perform well to avoid making the same mistakes Italy did, so Casumo's odds of 3.60 for a win for Ronaldo and co with both teams scoring seem like an ideal bet.
