Portugal 3-1 Turkey: 5 Talking Points as Cristiano Ronaldo and Co secure hard-fought victory | FIFA World Cup Playoffs 2022

#3 Portugal do it without their star players

Ruben Dias was a notable absentee.

Portugal came into this fixture with quite a few of their star players missing. The hosts had most of their first-choice defenders out of this game. Ruben Dias, Pepe, Joao Cancelo and Nelson Semedo were missing at the back. Fernando Santos had to go with Danilo Pereira and Jose Fonte as his make-shift center-back pairing. The pairing was not a massive hit, but it got the job done.

Other notable absentees for Portugal were Renato Sanches, Anthony Lopes and Ruben Neves. With so many players sidelined with injuries and Covid, Portugal did a great job of churning out this win.

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#2 Turkey bow out with dignity

Berkan Kutlu in action.

Turkey did not lose without putting up a strong fight. The visitors really started orchestrating play in the second half. The Turks produced a magical sequence for Burak Yilmaz's goal in the 65th minute of the game. Cengiz Under, Berkan Kutlu and Yilmaz combined beautifully in the buildup to the goal. Under's vision to find Yilmaz was supreme.

Turkey kept searching for their equalizer and almost had it in the dying minutes of the game. Jose Fonte clipped Enes Unal to earn a penalty. Unfortunately, Yilmaz hit the bar from the spot.

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#1 Portugal were lethal upfront

Matheus Nunes rejoices after scoring a goal.

Portugal had three goals on the scoreboard but it could have been a lot more. The hosts were firing on all cylinders in attack. Otavio scored his first competitive goal for Portugal as he opened the scoring for them in the 15th minute of the game. He even set up Diogo Jota for Portugal's second of the night.

Apart from that, Joao Felix, Rafael Leao and Matheus Luiz Nunes were magnificent coming off the bench. Nunes scored his first goal for the national team following some brilliant work down the line by Leao to set him up. Overall, it was a great performance upfront.