Cristiano Ronaldo makes BIG statement after Portugal qualify for FIFA World Cup 2022

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo (Source: Twitter)

Cristiano Ronaldo who is set to appear in his 5th FIFA World Cup in Qatar, took to social media to celebrate the momentous achievement on Tuesday. 

Ronaldo who has played in every World Cup since 2006 helped Portugal in defeating North Macedonia 2-0 to qualify for Qatar 2022.

Bruno Fernandes put in an impressive display, scoring in each half in Portugal's play-off against North Macedonia with Ronaldo and Diogo Jota providing assists to lead their country to its sixth consecutive World Cup. 

"Goal achieved, we're at the Qatar World Cup," Ronaldo said on Instagram. "We're in our rightful place! Thank you to all the Portuguese people for the tireless support! Let's go Portugal!"

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A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

In Porto, Portugal looked as if they might be set for a long evening, with both skipper Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Jota going close in the first 30 minutes. Fernandes then intercepted a stray pass just after the half-hour mark before combining well with the Portugal captain and drilling a low strike past Stole Dimitrievski. 

North Macedonia rarely troubled Diogo Costa in the Portuguese goal in the first period but started brightly after the interval.

However, Fernandes put paid to any thoughts of another big scalp for the visitors after a swift counterattack set Diogo Jota down the left. His pinpoint delivery sat up nicely for the goalscorer to double his tally, hitting a neat first-time finish at speed.