To qualify for the competition, Cristiano Ronaldo and his colleagues needed only to avoid defeat against Serbia, but Aleksandar Mitrovic’s late winner condemned Fernando Santos’ side to second place in Group A.
The play-offs can be a brutal environment, and if Portugal is to qualify for the World Cup, they will have to be at their best in March.
The onus will be on Ronaldo – the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football – to deliver for his country, as it always seems to be the case.
The 36-year-old seldom fails to deliver for Portugal, and his performance in the European World Cup play-offs in 2013 was undoubtedly the best in the tournament’s history.
A Seleço headed to Sweden knowing that all they had to do was avoid defeat after winning 1-0 at home.
When Cristiano Ronaldo put Portugal ahead in the 50th minute, everything seemed to be going their way, but the pendulum swung back in the hosts’ favour thanks to a quickfire brace from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
🗣️ "I knew Portugal needed me and I showed I am here" 💪
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 19, 2021
🇵🇹 #OnThisDay in 2013, @Cristiano produced one of the greatest performances in #WCQ history, settling a #WorldCup play-off against Sweden with a stunning second-half hat-trick 🔥pic.twitter.com/EjkT61wpwo
Sweden’s valiant revival, though, was short-lived.
Ronaldo scored his second goal in the 77th minute, before completing his hat-trick two minutes later to send Portugal to the 2014 World Cup.
It was truly magnificent stuff from probably the best clutch footballer of all time, and you can see the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s masterpiece against Sweden below.
One of the best international performances ever.
— Cristiano Ronaldo Fans (@CRonaldoLive) September 22, 2020
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Sweden 🔥.pic.twitter.com/QoZjr7QNbx
