There are no prizes for guessing which team Cristiano Ronaldo preferred to face as Portugal prepare for the final step towards qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. But facing North Macedonia, a team rapidly gaining a reputation for its giant-killings, offers a precarious scenario.
Ronaldo and Portugal secured their spot in the final play-off after beating Turkey 3-1 on Thursday thanks to goals from Otavio, Diogo Jota and Matheus Nunes. Ronaldo won his 185th cap and, while he failed to add to his incredible tally of 115 goals in Lisbon, his team managed to get the job done.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos could have been forgiven for keeping one eye on the Italy match, with such a short time to prepare for Monday’s crunch clash. Playing against the European champions would have been a daunting prospect for his side — only for the Azzurri to fail what seemed to be an easy test against North Macedonia.
Despite having 30 attempts on goal, Italy were wasteful and found themselves desperately scrambling for a winning goal with extra-time looming. That was until Aleksandar Trajkovski, some 25 yards out, struck a sweet, low effort into the far corner of the net, sparking wild celebrations on the North Macedonian bench.
Trajkovski has developed a habit of becoming an Italian party pooper. Back in 2017, he scored in the 1-1 draw between the two sides. The next month, Italy lost in the play-off to miss out on the 2018 World Cup, resulting in the dismissal of coach Giampero Ventura. And he will be keeping a low profile when he goes back to rejoin Serie B club Palermo after the international break.
Of the 15 players that featured against Italy, only two play in the top five European leagues. The rest play in Croatia, the German second tier, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova and Cyprus. The standard of those leagues is way below what Italy’s stars are used to, but their desire to win by any means necessary was evident throughout.
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"We won Italian style against the Italians, a goal with two shots on target,' manager Blagoja Milevski said. "I'm very happy for this victory, I'm proud for these guys. We know our strengths. Before the game I told the guys to have fun and they did just that."
It is not the first time North Macedonia have disrupted the status quo in international football. This time last year, they headed to Duisburg for a World Cup qualifier against Germany. Many predicted a drubbing, while everyone in Germany expected a victory — but no one saw a North Macedonia win coming.
It was 37-year-old icon Goran Pandev who scored the opener before Ilkay Gundogan cancelled it out with a penalty. But Eljif Elmas, widely expected to take Pandev's place as North Macedonia’s crown jewel, scored a late winner to produce one of the biggest shocks in World Cup qualifying history. Remarkably, it was Germany's first defeat in a World Cup qualifier since they were beaten 5-1 by England in 2001.
And it pointed to a new dawn for a Balkan nation that was starting to emerge from the shadows. They qualified for Euro 2020 under the new format and held their own in the group phase. Under coach Milevski, North Macedonia have become a fiendishly difficult team to beat, as Portugal coach Santos has already warned.
"I told you before we could be playing them, those games are not a joke, it's like a final and anything can happen,” he said. "You have to face it with the focus and concentration that it deserves. A team that goes to Italy and beats the European champions doesn't need introductions."
Portugal will be blessed with the attacking talents of Ronaldo, Jota, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Goncalo Guedes and Andre Silva. But with key figures such as Ruben Dias and Pepe missing at the back, that could give North Macedonia all the encouragement they need to pull off another heist.
For Ronaldo, he knows he cannot fail this time. At 37, this is his last realistic opportunity to play in a World Cup and that will fuel his determination to fire his nation to the tournament in Qatar. But with their best-ever opportunity within their fingertips, North Macedonia will be looking to add another notch on their ever-growing list of monumental upsets.
