Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face off in the World Cup playoffs next month after Portugal and Sweden were drawn into the same playoff.
The draw proved unfortunate the two international superstars as it means that one will be missing out on what could be his final World Cup appearance. Ronaldo is 29 and could still make an appearance in the 2018 World cut at the age of 34; however, it is likely that he would start on the bench given his age. Meanwhile the 32-year-old Ibrahimovic has stated that he would retire from the international game if his team failed to make the competition.
Portugal finished second in its group behind Russia. The team lost to Russia and had to settle for draws against Northern Ireland and Israel on its way to second place. Meanwhile Sweden wound up second behind Germany but managed to draw 4-4 against the group leaders. Sweden managed to win a group that included Austria and Ireland.
"It's going to be a very even playoff against Sweden. They do have Zlatan, after all, but it's not only him they are a strong team overall. They've been many times in the final phases of major tournaments so we need to find the best way possible to reach our goal. It is a difficult tie, but we are sure that we will be in Brazil next year," said Portugal coach Pablo Bento according to ESPN.
This match will be hard to predict as either star will have to shine to get his team into the World Cup. Ronaldo is a step above Ibrahimovic and has been huge in the clutch for Portugal over the last year. Look for Portugal to pull off the win.
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