Cristiano Ronaldo insists "nothing is achieved" despite Portugal taking one step closer to their "great objective" of World Cup qualification.
The Manchester United superstar, 37, played the full 90 minutes as Fernando Santos' side overcame Turkey with a 3-1 victory on Thursday night. Ronaldo lined up with Diogo Jota in attack and the Liverpool forward scored Portugal's second goal, with Otavio and Matheus Nunes also on the scoresheet for the hosts at the Estadio do Dragao.
The result sees Portugal progress to the final qualifying round on Tuesday, where they might have expected to face Italy. However, the defending European champions suffered a shock defeat by North Macedonia, meaning they will not be present at the World Cup for the second tournament in a row.
Portugal will fancy their chances of reaching Qatar as North Macedonia - whom they have never lost against - are ranked 67th by FIFA. Luis Figo scored the winner in their first friendly meeting back in 2003 and the two nations played out a goalless draw nine years later. Italy, in contrast, are ranked sixth in the world and boast a wealth of talent in all areas of the pitch, so they would have presented the far greater challenge on paper.
However, Ronaldo does not want his teammates to get ahead of themselves and called on them to continue "respecting the opponent" in a rousing message on Instagram. "The first step has been taken towards our great objective, towards the 2022 World Cup," the Portugal captain wrote. "Nothing is won, nothing is achieved. We have to continue to work in a serious and focused way, respecting the opponent but always believing in our abilities. Power Portugal! Go to Qatar!"
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Ronaldo's comments on social echoed those made by Nunes after the match, with the goalscorer adamant that Portugal cannot underestimate North Macedonia - as Italy may have been guilty of doing - with a spot at the World Cup on the line. "We can't think it will be easy against North Macedonia," the Sporing Lisbon midfielder told reporters.
"Now we have to rest and work for the game plan. It's a team that deserves all our respect. They went to Italy and won, you have to have quality to accomplish that." Azzurri manager Roberto Mancini described his side's defeat by North Macedonia as "something incredible" and admitted he is "more than disappointed". The minnows will now travel to Porto as they look to cause another upset.
