Cristiano Ronaldo has delivered a powerful message ahead of Portugal's "life or death" World Cup play-off, admitting that he wants "hell breaking loose" at Estadio do Dragao.
Portugal are one game away from sealing a spot at Qatar 2022, with only North Macedonia standing in their way in their final play-off fixture.
Fernando Santos' side beat Turkey 3-1 in their play-off semi-final, while North Macedonia overcame Italy 1-0 in one of the biggest shocks in the recent history of international football, but Ronaldo is confident that his country won't share the same fate as the European champions.
What's been said?
The Manchester United forward, who has scored a world record 115 goals for Portugal during his career, has issued a rallying cry to supporters for extra noise and passion in Tuesday's final.
"I urge the fans - I want hell breaking loose at Dragao [Stadium]," said Ronaldo.
"I went to bed last night thinking that I want the stadium to shut down the music for our national anthem and let the fans sing it acapella to show our passion, our strength and union around the objective of reaching the World Cup."
The 37-year-old Portugal captain added on the importance of the fixture: "For us, this game is a matter of life and death. There is a responsibility to win this game. For us, also a game of our lives.
"They have surprised [opponents] in many games but I believe they will not surprise us."
Santos warns Portugal against complacency
Santos, meanwhile, has warned Portugal that they cannot afford to take North Macedonia lightly despite the fact that they remain huge underdogs to reach the World Cup.
Italy dominated their semi-final against the Balkan nation but were made to pay for their missed chances when Aleksandar Trajkovski struck in stoppage time.
"If we think that, theoretically, the Macedonians are weaker, we are on the wrong track, it's the worst possible scenario," said Santos.
"We have to face North Macedonia as we would have faced Italy."
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