National stadium
Spectators: 1028 (Terracing: 772,
Seating: 236, VIP seats: 20) Macedonia's Bekim Ribarski started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. In the 7th minute Portugal were awarded a corner. Joaquim Ribeiro went to the cornerflag to take it. Diogo Setúbal showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Josif Serafimov, who was totally free with the ball in the 10th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Josif Serafimov in the 10th minute of play forced Portugal's goalkeeper Diogo Setúbal to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Portugal's Paulo Tavares in the 11th minute got a chance for a shot 11th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Macedonia's goalie prevented a goal. After 12 minutes Macedonia's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Joaquim Ribeiro who took care of the corner kick. The corner led to Portugal's João Neves getting away a dangerous shot that went just outside the goal. In the 16th minute Paulo Tavares shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dragoljub Despotovski saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Vítor Machado during the 17th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The goalkeeper, Diogo Setúbal, was totally fooled by Macedonia's Ilija Najdovski, who 18 minutes into the game made a penalty shot that went in on the goalkeeper's left side. Dragoljub Despotovski showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Amadeu Moniz, who was totally free with the ball in the 21st minute. Dragoljub Despotovski showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Paulo Tavares in the 23rd minute of the match. 27 minutes into the match, Portugal's Paulo Tavares sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Dragoljub Despotovski narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Diogo Setúbal made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bekim Ribarski in the 28th minute of play. In the 29th minute João Neves shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dragoljub Despotovski saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 32nd minute Paulo Tavares shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dragoljub Despotovski saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Dragoljub Despotovski took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Paulo Tavares, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience was convinced that Paulo Tavares's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dragoljub Despotovski was relentless in the 34th minute of the game. Portugal were awarded a corner in the 35th minute after Macedonia's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Joaquim Ribeiro took the corner. The corner led Portugal's Joaquim Ribeiro to fire away a dangerous shot which Dragoljub Despotovski despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. 37 minutes into the match, Macedonia's goal looked a bit too open when Paulo Tavares came free, but Dragoljub Despotovski reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Macedonia's Dragoljub Despotovski played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by João Neves in the 39th minute of play. In the 42nd match minute, Portugal was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Emílio Rodrigues to maneuver through the defense. João Neves scored 1-1 in the 46th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Dragoljub Despotovski, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 1-1 after a close first half.
Portugal's Raul Bessa was substituted for Afonso Coimbra. Macedonia made a substitution. Petar Antič replaced Petar Stojanovič. Portugal's Luís Leal was substituted for João Neves. Macedonia's Slobodan Bogdanovski was substituted for Simon Lefkovski. Portugal made a substitution. Filipe Pinho replaced Amadeu Moniz. When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Paulo Tavares made a kick off. Dragoljub Despotovski made an important save on a dangerous shot by Luís Leal in the 56th minute. Luís Leal might have been able to make a better finish in the 57th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Dragoljub Despotovski. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Luís Leal ran back to his position shaking his head. If Paulo Tavares had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 62nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 65 minutes into the match, Macedonia's goal looked a bit too open when Luís Leal came free, but Dragoljub Despotovski reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 66 minutes into the match, Macedonia's goal looked a bit too open when Luís Leal came free, but Dragoljub Despotovski reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 67th minute of the match, Luís Leal tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Dragoljub Despotovski saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. Petar Antič's late challenge caught a Portugal's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Petar Antič helped the player get up and apologised. Luís Leal who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 73rdth minute tested the skills of Dragoljub Despotovski when he managed to save the team from getting behind. Dragoljub Despotovski stood somewhat misplaced when Luís Leal came free in front of goal and shot 1-2 to the left of him in the 73 minute. 77 minutes had been played when some careless play by Macedonia's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Joaquim Ribeiro was slow to take the kick. During this time Portugal's players had a chance to rest. In the 83rdth minute of the game Sande Spasovski who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Portugal's Diogo Setúbal was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Portugal's Diogo Setúbal played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sande Spasovski in the 93rd minute of play. Diogo Setúbal made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Sande Spasovski in the 93rd minute of play. Dragoljub Despotovski made a fantastic save in the 95th minute, when Abel Fernandes sent off a good shot on target. Luís Leal fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 96th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Dragoljub Despotovski having to interfere. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Portugal walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.
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