Fernando Santos: 'We cannot afford to underestimate North Macedonia'

Portugal boss Fernando Santos has insisted that his team will not be taking North Macedonia lightly in next week's World Cup playoff final.

A Selecao booked their spot in the final courtesy of a 3-1 win over Turkey on Thursday, while North Macedonia beat European champions Italy 1-0 to advance to the final.

Santos has said that North Macedonia's shock victory over Italy means that the Lions must be taken extremely seriously in Tuesday's contest, with the winner advancing to the World Cup finals.

"We need to show the same respect to North Macedonia that we would to Italy," Santos told reporters. "I told you before we could be playing them, those games are not a joke, it's like a final and anything can happen.

"You have to face it with the focus and concentration that it deserves. A team that goes to Italy and beats the European champions doesn't need introductions."

North Macedonia have never qualified for the finals of a World Cup, but they competed at Euro 2020, losing all three of their matches to exit in the group stage of the competition.

Portugal, meanwhile, have competed in each of the last five World Cups, reaching the round of 16 in 2018.