Portugal vs North Macedonia LIVE: World Cup play-off final result, score and reaction
Relive all the action from Porto
Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Portugal sealed their place in their sixth consecutive World Cup finals with a 2-0 win over North Macedonia in Porto.
Fernandes ended the visitors’ resistance with a 32nd-minute opener after being played in by a neat bit of skill by Cristiano Ronaldo.
From that moment on there was little danger of the North Macedonians repeating the heroics that saw them dump Italy out of the tournament with a dramatic late winner in Palermo last week.
Fernandes sealed his side’s passage to Qatar in the 65th minute when he finished off a lightning counter-attack by stroking the ball past keeper Stole Dimitrievski. Relive all the action live below:
Portugal 0-0 North Macedonia, 23 minutes
Meanwhile in Porto, the home side are just starting to burst into life. Otavio has what feels like his first touch of the evening as Portugal paint sharp triangles down the right - corner kick.
Poland 0-0 Sweden, 20 minutes
Chances are beginning to come more regularly for Sweden. Poland fail to concretely clear their lines and the ball is rolled back for Dejan Kulusevski, who picks his spot in the far corner but finds only a meaty Polish thigh rather closer to him.
Poland 0-0 Sweden, 18 minutes
Sharp stop from Wojciech Szczesny! Krystian Bielik is burgled in midfield and Sweden come forward in good number, Emil Forsberg slipped in on the left and forcing the Poland goalkeeper to get down swiftly and parry a driven effort beyond his post.
Sweden then earn another corner after some pinball.
Portugal 0-0 North Macedonia, 17 minutes
That’s not right, either - floated like a balloon on the breeze and gathered in relative comfort by goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
Portugal 0-0 North Macedonia, 16 minutes
That’s not the right delivery, though. Enis Bardhi hits only Joao Moutinho’s well-sculpted head in front of the near post.
He’ll get another go from a free kick on the opposite side.
Portugal 0-0 North Macedonia, 15 minutes
At the other end, back-to-back corners for North Macedonia.
Portugal 0-0 North Macedonia, 13 minutes
And now Cristiano Ronaldo misses an opportunity! Diogo Jota slides his strike partner through after North Macedonia get their structure wrong for a first time. Ronaldo lets the ball run across him and hits it across goal with his left foot, but over-compensates for the angle and skids it wide of Stole Dimitrievski’s left-hand post. A decent opening, that.
Poland 0-0 Sweden, 10 minutes
A chance for Robert Lewandowski, but headed wide! Matty Cash produces a nice whipped ball to the far post and Lewandowski appears to have faded into space, but Emil Krafth arrives and rises in a timely manner to challenge the Poland striker, forcing his header to slide away from goal and comfortably wide of Robin Olsen’s goal. Cash gurns in frustration - that was a lovely cross.
Portugal 0-0 North Macedonia, 11 minutes
Boos from the home fans - they aren’t liking their team’s performance so far in Porto! North Macedonia have started with real calm and composure. Portugal yet to really take hold of a contest that they are heavy favourites to win.
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