Bruno Fernandes was the hero as Portugal booked their place at World Cup 2022. The Manchester United star scored twice in a win over North Macedonia.
Fernandes benefitted from a Cristiano Ronaldo assist for the first, scoring in each half of a 2-0 win.
Quoted after the game, Fernandes said he was just happy to help the team, with the result the most important issue.
Speaking to Portuguese newspaper Expresso after the game, Fernandes expressed his delight and spoke about how he felt.
Fernandes said: “It [scoring] doesn’t matter, the important thing is to help the team, in any way.
“I’m not here to score goals but to help the team. If you can with goals, with all the pleasure. Any of us likes to score goals. But the focus is to help the team and that’s what I did.
“Then it’s up to each one to criticize and opinion, but I stick with my idea, with the manager’s ideas. If I’ve had this continuity in the selection, it’s because I do what the manager asks of me.”
He went on to add this was one of his favourite memories in a Portugal shirt even if the performance was not the finest.
Fernandes said: “It is in a special place obviously because the objective was achieved and that was the most important thing. I think Portugal has played better, we’ve had better performances, but this is one of the highlights because it guarantees us access to the World Cup.”
The Manchester United star’s night was not just about the goals. Fernandes created four goalscoring chances, more than any Portugal player.
North Macedonia gave it their all, but Portugal were too good for them, winning 2-0. They had beaten Italy in the semi-finals, which ultimately spared Fernandes and Ronaldo a much tougher final match.
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