Portugal won the World Cup ticket thanks to the extra index

Ronaldo and his teammates defeated Switzerland 2-0 in the final match to take the lead in Group B of the European qualifying round.

Goals: Djourou 41' own goal, Andre Silva 57'

Hosting the group leaders Switzerland, Portugal must win if they want to level the points gap. And the red team once again brought joy to their home fans with their improved performance.

Portugal opened the scoring in the 41st minute, after a period of continuous pressure, with an attack from the left wing. After a cross into the Swiss penalty area, the away team's goalkeeper Yann Sommer pushed the ball into the foot of centre-back Johan Djourou, causing it to bounce back into the goal, creating an own goal.

Andre Silva sealed a 2-0 victory for Portugal. Photo: Reuters

Relieving the pressure, Portugal attacked more effectively from the beginning of the second half. And the "sweet fruit" soon came to the home team when Andre Silva sealed the score at 2-0 in the 57th minute. The striker wearing the number 17 shirt needed two touches to successfully finish after receiving a cross across the 5m50 box from the player with the same name, Bernardo Silva.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo started the match but did not have many chances. Instead of scoring directly, CR7 became a "magnet" attracting the opponent's defense to create space for his teammates.

The Swiss defense always followed Ronaldo closely.

Switzerland only attacked more from the end of the first half, especially after the second goal. Apart from a few shots from Xhaka and Shaqiri, the white team hardly put any pressure on goalkeeper Rui Patricio's goal.

With a 2-0 win, Portugal not only leveled the score with Switzerland on 27 points but also moved ahead on goal difference. The reigning Euro champions lead Group B after 10 matches thanks to a goal difference of +28, while the Swiss team only has +16.

By topping Group B, Portugal became one of nine European teams to qualify directly for the World Cup. The other eight teams were France, Germany, Serbia, Poland, England, Spain, Belgium and Iceland.

Meanwhile, due to only finishing second, Switzerland had to join a group of eight teams waiting to be paired in the play-offs to compete for a spot alongside Italy, Denmark, Croatia, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Greece and the Republic of Ireland.

Granit Xhaka and his teammates must play two more play-off matches if they want to reach the World Cup.

Slovakia also finished second (Group F) but were eliminated due to having the lowest number of points in the second-placed group. The play-off draw will take place on October 17, with the matches played in early November.

According to VNE