In about six months the football world will once again be on its feet as the FIFA World Cup gets underway in June, with Brazil playing hosts. Countries in each region have been intensely preparing for the biggest event in football, to earn a place in the finals and make their country proud. And Cristiano Ronaldo achieved a hat trick to send Portugal to the 2014 World Cup.
Second-leg playoff
On November 19, during the second leg of the playoff between Portugal and Sweden in Stockholm, the game was furiously fought, with each team’s star, Ronaldo for Portugal and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, were trading goals. They did score all the goals in the game, it was just unfortunate for Sweden that Ronaldo did a hat trick, giving Portugal the edge in the 3-2 final score and ensuring that Portugal will make another appearance in the FIFA World Cup in 2014.
Very tight game
The first half was a scoreless affair. Ronaldo fired first in the second half at the 52nd minute. A header from Zlatan at the 69th minute made the score 1-1. Eleven minutes into the second half, the score was tied at 2 all, in a match that had been widely and wildly anticipated by fans all over the world. Two of the most electric football players will be on their toes, literally during the entire game. The two top-billers did not disappoint. A free kick from Zlatan at the 72nd gave Sweden an edge. Everyone was tense. A left foot kick from Ronaldo across the face of goal in the 78th minute made the score even once again. It looked like it will end in a draw, but in the 79th minute, Ronaldo delivered another left foot kick, scoring his third for the night and pushing Sweden out of the World Cup qualifier roster.
Another milestone for Ronaldo
His goals in this last game take his goal tally to 47, which makes him one of the highest goal scorers for Portugal, tying the record with Pauleta (Portugal, retired). His current record stands at 31 goals in the 19 games he has played.
Complete List of World Cup qualifiers
Meanwhile, Uruguay became the last team to qualify for the World Cup, securing a berth in a scoreless game against Jordan last Wednesday. Their previous 5-0 win in their game in Amman last week ensure that they will be a World Cup qualifier. Their win also means that the eight countries that have held the World Cup trophy aloft are playing in 2014. Uruguay is not new to the big games, as it had been a World Cup champion in 1950.
There are no qualifiers from Oceania for 2014. Here is the list of qualifiers:
ASIA: Australia, Iran, Japan and South Korea
AFRICA: Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria
NORTH AMERICA: Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico and the United States
SOUTH AMERICA: Brazil (host), Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay
EUROPE: Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Switzerland.
Photo Credit: Cristiano Ronaldo
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