Ronaldo reflects on World Cup qualifiers loss to Serbia: 'Portugal bound for Qatar'

Legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo found himself on the losing side of the World Cup Qualifiers match against Serbia on Sunday, as Portugal suffered a 1-2 defeat that kept them from qualifying for the next year’s FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Following the loss, Ronaldo took to his official Instagram account and posted a long message expressing his side after his team was relegated to a playoff that will be held next year in March with 11 other nations. By defeating Portugal 1-2 in the away match, Serbia became the latest team to qualify for next year’s global football event. 

As per AP, after suffering the 1-2 loss, Ronaldo on his Instagram post on Monday said, “Football has shown us time and time again that sometimes the most difficult paths are the ones that lead us to the most desired outcomes. Yesterday’s result was tough, but not tough enough to get us down. The goal of being in the 2022 World Cup is still very much alive and we know what we have to do to get there.” He ended the caption of his post by saying that he won’t use any excuses and concluded by saying Portugal are bound for Qatar.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Instagram post after 1-2 loss-

Portugal started their match against Serbia on strong note 

During Portugal vs Serbia, Renato Sanches opened the scoresheet for Portugal by scoring in the second minute of the match, as Dusan Tadic scored Serbia’s opening goal at the 33rd minute and equalized the score. With only a draw needed to qualify for Qatar, Portugal conceded a goal at the 90th minute as Serbia went on to win and earn the qualification. Portugal will now have to face nine group runner-ups of the European Qualifiers and two group winners from the UEFA Nations League when they next year’s playoff. The 12 teams will fight for the World Cup 2022 spots in three four-team brackets. 

If Portugal qualifies for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 through the playoffs, the 36-year-old legendary footballer might play his last World Cup as he has made four straight World Cup appearances since 2006. At the same time, Portugal will be hopeful for the qualification as they have played in every World Cup since 2002, after previously failing to qualify for the tournament from 1990 to 1998.

(Image: AP)