Cristiano Ronaldo urges Portugal fans to unleash 'hell', North Macedonia's President fires warning to him

Never ones to take a lifeline for granted, Euro 2016 winners Portugal will hope that they can protect their record of not missing a major tournament this century. When they play North Macedonia: a team that loves to defy the bookies, they'll be hoping to keep that proud record intact.

Although playing in the Estadio do Dragao will add to Portugal's reputation as favourites, can North Macedonia's intimidation tactics be a cause for concern for Portugal?

Following North Macedonia's upset win over Italy in Thursday's play-off semi-final in Palermo, Portugal has been reminded not to underestimate its opponents.

"Get ready @Cristiano, you are next!" tweeted North Macedonia president Stevo Pendarovski in a tweet.

Tuesday's match will determine if Cristiano Ronaldo will play in his fifth World Cup, which will be held in Qatar later this year. He has not missed a World Cup since his international debut in 2003.

Ronaldo has urged Portugal fans to make their presence count by making "all hell break loose" when Portugal host the giant killers at Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday.

The Portuguese legend urged fans to ensure they do not follow in the footsteps of Roberto Mancini's side, who North Macedonia defeated last week.

"I urge the fans, I want hell breaking loose at Dragao," Ronaldo said in an interview. 

"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, a cappella, to show our passion, our strength and union around the objective of reaching the World Cup.

"If our fans show up the way they can, we will win on Tuesday. The team is very confident and we are excited for the final. This is the game of our lives", he added. 

A bigger motivating factor ahead of North Macedonia's playoff final with Portugal is the whopping reward of €500,000 (N230 million) that awaits them.

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, who went to the Vatican last year to request Pope Francis' prayers for the team, boarded their plane on Sunday to bid them farewell before they flew to Porto.

In a bid to motivate them, he promised he would reward them if they reached the 2022 tournament at the expense of Portugal.

Portugal's inspiration: Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in international football, has never lost a World Cup qualifying match when scoring for Portugal.

North Macedonia’s hope: Aleksandar Trajkovski: North Macedonia’s hero vs Italy has scored five of his last six international goals after half-time.