Cristiano Ronaldo’s dream of playing in the 2022 World Cup which is likely to be his last suffered a major blow following Portugal’s defeat in the hands of Serbia.
Serbia qualified for the 2022 World Cup after Aleksandar Mitrovic came off the bench to score a dramatic injury-time winner to stun complacent Portugal.
2020 Euros sensation, Renato Sanches’ second minute goal was cancelled out by a Dusan Tadic equaliser from outside the box, greatly helped by a Rui Patricio error, in the first half.
And with just seconds left of the match, Serbia completed the turnaround through a dramatic last-gasp winner from Mitrovic, whose header at the back post silenced a shell-shocked crowd inside the Estadio da Luz.
The result saw Serbia leapfrog Portugal to finish top of Group A on 20 points. With 17 points, Portugal now faces two rounds of playoffs in March if they are to make it to Qatar in 2022.
A mini drama ensued when Portugal boss, Fernando Santos approached his star striker on the pitch after the match and the Manchester United striker started to shout and gesticulate furiously.
The Portugal captain could be seen shattered and broke down in tears and directed his anger at Santos.
However, Santos was keen on dismissing the incident while addressing the press after the game.
Santos said “Nobody was explaining anything”.
“He was telling the other guy that there [in Serbia] he had scored a goal at the last minute and that the referee didn’t count [it].
“That’s what he was saying at the time. On the field, he said that we scored a goal there and the referee didn’t, but it’s his outburst – it’s perfectly normal.
“Now no one goes after a game to explain what happened or didn’t happen. I went to raise the players’ heads.”
