While all signs originally pointed towards Portugal finding a clear qualifying path to the 2022 Qatar World Cup tournament, especially according to all the major sports betting platforms around, like the ones who are now solemnly focusing on bringing fans the best Super Bowl betting odds, Cristiano Ronaldo and his national squad teammates are now facing the daunting task of having to face Turkey in the first of two knockout playoff stages.
But as if that wasn’t enough, after Turkey lies the possibility of having to go face to face against European and world football powerhouse Italy in a potential final “win and you’re in” game.
The stakes have never been higher for a Portuguese squad looking to do whatever it takes to allow CR7 one last chance at chasing World Cup gold. Should the Seleção make it to the finals, it is surely the last time Ronaldo will grace football fans with his immense talents in the biggest national squad tournament in the world, the FIFA World Cup. But what should Portugal be focusing on before their March playoff dates? We bring you two points that Portugal should focus on to qualify for Qatar 2022.
Don’t get fooled by the favouritism tag
If you were to look into any of the top sports betting sites around, as well as the leading football stats and review sites, you’d probably see that even with there being around two months before the UEFA play-off semi-finals and finals are played to decide the remaining spots for the Qatar 2022 tournament, Portugal are seen as the favourite from their path to advance, no doubt influenced by the fact they play their two games (should they reach the final) on home turf.
Moreover, if you look at Portugal’s roster and compare it to the likes of Turkey, their immediate rivals, and Northern Macedonia and Italy, which will be playing for a spot in the final play-off where they might end up meeting Portugal, you can see that there is an advantage for the Portuguese. That does not mean however that Portugal should be riding on the favouritism tag whatsoever.
If we take a stroll back in time through the history of Portuguese football, the best results from Portugal have often come from when they can play without the pressure of being considered favourites. Take the EURO 2004 tournament as a clear example. Portugal was seen as overwhelming favourites to get through their group, which they only managed by the skin of their teeth, then to win the tournament in the final against Greece, and yet, when push came to shove, Greece was able to outsmart and outlast Figo’s and Rui Costa’s Portuguese squad. Talking of these two Portuguese greats of the game, many will also remember the high hopes for the Seleção heading into the 2002 World Cup, with the famed “golden generation” at the peak of their powers, only for the team to crash and burn in the initial group stage.
Now let’s fast-forward to the EURO 2016 tournament. Portugal went into the competition unfancied yet battled their way to the final. In the deciding match, the favouritism tag clearly hung above France’s head, and what happened? Portugal ended up winning the tournament. Indeed, four years previously, Portugal were again expected by many to struggle to get through a Euro 2012 group that contained Germany and Netherlands, but ended up playing a fantastic tournament, only beaten in a penalty shootout in the semi-final by eventual champions Spain.
If this can teach us anything that can be very useful for the coming encounters, it is that Portugal plays best when they don’t have to worry about being the favourites. Let us hope the poor recent form shown by Fernando Santos’ men combined with Italy’s World Cup pedigree (four times winners) will shift the favouritism and the pressure that comes with that onto the Italians’ shoulders
Understanding that CR7 cannot carry the team by himself
There are players that all football fans wish could last forever. Cristiano Ronaldo is one of them. But with CR7 now at 37 years of age and with his career very slowly starting to wind down, it’s time for the rest of the Portuguese national squad to pick up the slack and help their leader out, especially if we take into account as previously mentioned that this could end up being CR7’s last shot at World Cup glory.
Portugal has a bounty of young, explosive talents that are more than ready to step up and help CR7 in his way towards Qatar 2022, that’s a given, but it’s time for actions to speak louder than words.
In all areas of the pitch, Portugal has bonafide leaders that if they unite their considerable talents under the same flag, gunning to accomplish a shared mission, this collection of footballers could end up becoming one of the most dominant squads not only in Europe but in the world, while still being led by CR7.
In defence players like Rúben Dias, João Cancelo and the emerging Nuno Mendes have all shown with ample reason why they are considered some of the best defenders in European club football. In midfield, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva are masters of their craft, while Renato Sanches and João Palinha showed at Euro 2020 that Portugal can have bite in the middle of the pitch as well as guile. As for the attack, Diogo Jota is tearing it up at Liverpool, proving to be one of the best performers in the English Premier League, Rafael Leão is similarly enjoying much of the limelight in Italy, not to mention the undoubted talents of Joao Felix and the rejuvenated Gonçalo Guedes. That is enough firepower to keep up with CR7’s impressive goal-scoring prowess to help Portugal make it to Qatar 2022.
by Val Carvalho
