Portugal vs. North Macedonia 3/29/22 UEFA World Cup Qualifications Playoffs Soccer Pick, Predictions, and Odds

Portugal is hosting North Macedonia at Estadio do Dragao in the finals of the UEFA World Cup Qualifications playoffs. Portugal has dominantly beaten Turkey in the semifinals, and they are now one step closer to the World Cup. North Macedonia has beaten Italy in the semifinals, but I don’t think they have what it takes to pull this off twice in a row.

Portugal has had a really good game against Turkey, they were dominant, they have created a lot of good chances, and in the end, they have deservedly won this matchup. Nunes, Jota, and Otavio were the goalscorers for Portugal in that game, but they got a bit lucky because Turkey has missed a penalty kick that would have tied the score to 2-2. Cristiano Ronaldo is still the leading goalscorer for Portugal with 6 goals, while Jota now has 5 goals to his name. the good news for Portugal is they are playing this game at home as well, and that will be a huge advantage for them in this game. Portugal is a pretty stacked team, they have enough depth, and they certainly have enough quality to qualify for the World Cup, and to do well in it as well.

We all know how North Macedonia got to this stage, and as I’ve mentioned, I’m not sure they have what it takes to do it twice. In that game against Italy, it seems North Macedonia was defending well, but it was more like Italy couldn’t do the right thing in the attacking end, and that one shot North Macedonia has had was the perfect one. With that late goal in the 92^nd minute, North Macedonia has won this game, and they have brought themselves one step closer to the World Cup. The goalscorer was Trajkovski, who is pretty much a national hero right now, but North Macedonia has one more huge game ahead before they can celebrate. Trajkovski has 5 goals to his name in these qualifications right now, while Bardhi and Elmas have added 4 goals each. North Macedonia is a team that is improving, they have showed us that at the Euro Cup last year, but I think they might need to wait a bit longer to play at the World Cup.

It’s been a while since these two teams have played against each other, but Portugal is the superior team here, by far. North Macedonia has a lot of fight left in them, and they can be dangerous, but I think Portugal gets the job done here.