When Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal play World Cup qualifier playoffs 2022

Portugal may not make the World Cup, and that's the simple truth. Despite ranking No. 8 in the world, it's a real possibility that the 2022 World Cup will be without world superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and the 2016 European champions.

The Portuguese face two must-win playoff games to guarantee their spot in Qatar in November. One loss and the World Cup dream will be over for 37-year-old Ronaldo, who will likely not get another shot to add the biggest trophy in world football to his legendary list of achievements.

In a group with Azerbaijan, the Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, and Serbia, most observers picked Portugal to finish in first place and clinch the automatic ticket to the World Cup. But Portugal left it to the final day and a winner-take-all matchup against Serbia.

Playing at home, Ronaldo & Co. were cruising when Renato Sanches put them up after just two minutes. But Serbia battled back to win on a late goal and Portugal were shocked at home, dropping into the playoffs. 

Now Ronaldo and Portugal have to qualify the hard way. Next up is a tricky single-elimination match against Turkey (March 24). If Portugal survive, that will be followed five days later by another one-game showdown, likely to come against defending Euro champions Italy (if the Azzurri beat North Macedonia).

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World Cup playoff schedule for Ronaldo & Portugal

• Date: Thurs, March 24 vs. Turkey
• Time: 3:45 p.m. ET
• USA TV channels: ESPN2, UniMas, TUDN
• USA stream: fuboTV
• Canada TV channel: Univision Canada

The playoff semifinal will see Portugal host Turkey at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto. The game will take place at 3:45 p.m. ET, on Thursday, March 24. Italy will be facing North Macedonia at the same time, with that game taking place in Palermo.

The winners of those two semifinals will then face off in a playoff final, which will take place five days later. The game is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. ET, on Tuesday, March 29. It will take place either in Porto, or in Konya, Turkey.

Portugal team for the World Cup playoffs

Manager Fernando Santos will be missing some key players, including his two starting center backs: Ruben Dias (hamstring) and Pepe (COVID-19). Influential midfielder Ruben Neves also had to pull out of the squad.

Porto's Vitinha, 22, was called up to replace Neves, while 21-year-old center back Tiago Djalo of French side LOSC Lille, will replace Pepe. But neither player has a senior international cap to their name.

Did Portugal win the World Cup?

Portugal's best ever finish in the World Cup came in 1966, which was also their first appearance in the tournament. They finished in third place that year.

They've had success on a continental level, having won the Nations League and the European Championships, but they've never been able to replicate that at the global tournament.

Ronaldo led Portugal to the 2006 World Cup semifinals, but they lost to France 1-0 on a Zinedine Zidane penalty and eventually lost the third-place match to Germany.

MORE: Ronaldo will suffer if Portugal faces Italy, says Bonucci

Portugal did not have a history of regularly qualifying for the tournament until the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. Since qualifying for that edition, they've managed to string together a run of five consecutive World Cups, a streak which is now in danger of being snapped.

Portugal World Cup history