Portugal will be in a crucial World Cup qualifying play-off final next week, after beating Turkey by 3-1 in Porto on Thursday; however, just after, Burak Yilmaz failed to convert a vital penalty late for the hosts.
The hosts were flying on the Estadio do Dragao thanks to the first-half goals scored by Brazilian midfielder Otavio and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota.
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But veteran captain Yilmaz scored a second goal within the 65th minute to set the stage for a dramatic final. Turkey received an extra penalty in the 88th minute after the German referee spotted the foul of Enes Unal after a VAR review.
However, Yilmaz scored the penalty over the bar. Matheus Nunes secured Portugal’s victory in the final minute of stoppage time.
The 36-year-old Yilmaz might not get the chance to participate in a World Cup as Turkey’s wait to make it back to the finals continues.
They haven’t been to the World Cup since coming third in Japan and South Korea in 2002.
Portugal has not been left in the tournament since 1998 and is hoping to qualify for Qatar in the next match when they play North Macedonia in a play-off final on Tuesday.
At the age of 37, Cristiano Ronaldo’s dream of World Cup glory remains alive, and very few teams in international football competition with the aggressiveness of Fernando Santos’s squad.
Here Santos took Joao Felix off the field and gave an unanticipated start to Otavio, a Brazil-born Porto winger.
This year’s European champions began well and accelerated towards the quarter-hour mark when a Bernardo Silva shot hit the post. Otavio, having won only the third time he played, bagged the rebound.
The second goal was scored about three minutes before the timeout after an enthralling move. Otavio cut across from the outside of the box, allowing Jota to slot in on the back post.
Portugal had a good run, but Turkey came back with a goal at the end of 65 minutes when Cengiz Under slipped a pass to Lille forward Yilmaz to score.
The Turkish team, who were without their first-choice center-back pair comprising Pepe And Ruben Dias because of Covid-19 and injuries, began to appear shaky, and Turkey was able to take advantage.
The referee Daniel Siebert initially disregarded Jose Fonte’s collision in the box with Unal on the field. Still, he was awarded a penalty following a review of the footage despite the Turkey player exaggerating the force of the tackle.
Yilmaz could have won extra time, but his 85th-minute strike smacked the bar before flying to the delighted fans at home.
Substitute Nunes, scored 3-1 in stoppage time, while all-time leading international goal scorer Ronaldo also hit the crossbar in the fourth minute as Portugal advanced.
