Relief for Ronaldo as Portugal punches World Cup ticket

Cristiano Ronaldo will get another shot at lifting the World Cup.

The leading men's international scorer can play in his fifth World Cup after Portugal defeated North Macedonia 2-0 in a European playoff, one of seven spots in soccer's premier tournament decided on Tuesday.

Thirty-two teams, including the host, will play in Qatar starting Nov 21. As of Tuesday, 27 teams had qualified with two additional spots to be determined on Wednesday. Two intercontinental playoffs will be held in June along with two games to determine the final European berth.

Portugal's win finalized the eight seeds for Friday's draw: host Qatar along with Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, England, France, Portugal and Spain.

Pot two will include Croatia, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Uruguay, and if they qualify this week, Mexico and the United States.

All eyes were on North Macedonia, vying for its first World Cup berth after it surprisingly eliminated Italy with a 1-0 victory last week. But it wasn't meant to be for the small country that gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.It will be Portugal's eighth World Cup and sixth in a row.

"Goal accomplished," Ronaldo said on Instagram after the match. "We made it to the World Cup in Qatar. We are where we deserve to be."

The coveted World Cup trophy is the one prize that has eluded Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner. While the 37-year-old is likely a lock for his team in Qatar, fellow international star Mo Salah will miss out after Egypt was eliminated by Senegal on Tuesday.

Senegal advanced on a penalty shootout for one of Africa's five berths. Salah's Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane struck the winning spot-kick after the teams drew 1-1 on aggregate, sending Senegal to its third World Cup. Salah appeared to have lasers shining on his face as he prepared to take his penalty, which he blazed over the bar.

Mane also had the shootout winner against Egypt in the African Cup of Nations final on Feb 6.

Egypt head coach Carlos Queiroz said: "There is not much to say－just nice words for the players for the game they played. Congratulations to Senegal."

Ghana qualified after a 1-1 draw with Nigeria behind Thomas Partey's 10th-minute goal to advance on away goals. The Black Stars will be making their fourth World Cup appearance.

Algeria won its first leg, but Cameroon came back with a 2-1 victory on Tuesday on Karl Toko Ekambi's goal in the fourth minute of the second extra-time period to advance on away goals.

Morocco downed the Democratic Republic of Congo 4-1 to secure its spot 5-2 on aggregate. Tunisia played a scoreless draw with Mali and qualified with a 1-0 aggregate victory.

Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty in the 50th minute and Poland secured its second-straight World Cup berth with a 2-1 victory over Sweden in another European playoff. It was Lewandowski's 75th international goal in 129 games.

"It was really tough, this pressure," Lewandowski said. "Even though I have taken many penalties in my career, this one was difficult. I knew so many people were watching me at this moment ... I knew this moment would have so much significance. It was not easy to focus on the ball at that moment, but I managed to do it."

Canada has already clinched a spot after emerging from the North and Central America and Caribbean zone, its first World Cup appearance in 36 years. The United States and Mexico have all but secured berths with the final round of matches set for Wednesday. The US men, who missed out on the 2018 World Cup, visit Costa Rica, while Mexico will host El Salvador.

Costa Rica is currently sitting in fourth place with a chance to go to an intercontinental playoff against the winner of Wednesday's Oceania match between New Zealand and the Solomon Islands.

The European teams to have qualified are Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Poland and Portugal.

Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and Uruguay have qualified in South America, and the fifth-place team will compete for a berth against the winner of Asia's fifth-place playoff between Australia and the United Arab Emirates on June 7.

The Asian zone teams that qualified are Iran, South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine was originally scheduled to play Scotland in a European playoff, but the match was postponed until June. The winner plays at Wales for Europe's final spot.

Agencies via Xinhua