Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot is part of the Portugual squad looking to seal a spot at World Cup 2022 via the play-offs.
Dalot has been selected alongside United teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes.
He will hope to start when Portugal play Turkey on Thursday night, looking to book their place in the final, where they are on a collision course with Euro 2020 winners Italy.
Speaking to United’s official website before international duty, Dalot, 23, outlined his ambitions for the not too distant future, which include ending United’s trophy drought.
“I would love, next season, to give [the supporters] that joy and satisfaction to celebrate with us,” Dalot said of his desire to win a trophy for United.
“And obviously Portugal being in the World Cup and being part of that would be amazing. For me it’s still a long way to get there.
“It’s been a tough season, we know that, but we need to go step by step and focus on the next few games. When the time comes I’ll think about it.”
How do the play-offs work?
There are 12 total teams in the play-offs. These are made up of 10 teams who finished second in their group, plus two top ranked teams from the UEFA Nations League who have not yet qualified.
There will be three groups, each with a one-off semi-final and a final.
Just three teams from the 12 will make the World Cup. That makes Portugal’s defeat to Serbia potentially a very costly one.
Joining Portugal in the play-offs are Victor Lindelof’s Sweden, who lost to Spain and finished second in their group, meaning they have to get past Czech Republic in the semis.
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