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Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes scored a clinical double as they beat stubborn visitors North Macedonia 2-0 to qualify for the World Cup finals in Qatar after a tense European playoff tie on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Roared on by 50,000 fans at a sold-out Dragao Stadium in Porto, Portugal dominated the game from the start but struggled to break down the strong North Macedonian defence, managing only three shots on target despite having almost 70% possession.

Fernandes opened the scoring 30 minutes into the first half after intercepting a pass by his best friend, North Macedonia captain Stefan Ristovski, working a great one-two with Cristiano Ronaldo before whipping his shot past the goalkeeper.

The 27-year-old attacking midfielder sealed Portugal’s win in the 65th minute, striking home a volley from a Diogo Jota cross, according to Reuters.

Fernando Santos’s team then ran down the clock, celebrating at the final whistle with their joyful fans who remained in the stands for more than 15 minutes after the game, singing as the players completed a victory lap holding a huge Portugal flag.

“I don’t care about individual accomplishments but this display will be one to remember because it helped my country to reach a World Cup,” Fernandes told reporters.

Portugal, who won the 2016 European Championship in France and the 2019 UEFA Nations League at home, qualified for a sixth straight World Cup finals and have now not missed a major international competition in the last 20 years.

“I have already won two competitions and I hope I can win the third one in Qatar,” coach Santos told a news conference.

“There was a spirit of mutual help and great support from the public. It was a deserved and fair win and qualification. I don’t remember any great goalscoring situations for their team.”

They were pushed into the playoffs after finishing second in Group A, having lost their final game at home to Serbia 2-1 last November, Reuters reported.

That had left them needing to win two consecutive elimination games to qualify, with last week’s win over Turkey, where they survived late drama, setting up a decider against North Macedonia, who had stunned Italy in their opening match.

It was a nervous occasion in Porto on Tuesday but Portugal dominated and avoided any surprises from the underdogs, who did not have a shot on target, according to Reuters.

Poland’s Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski fired second-half goals to book a place at the World Cup finals in Qatar with a 2-0 win over Sweden in an electrifying playoff tie on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The Poles battled to contain a Sweden side bristling with youthful attacking vigour, but in the end experience told as Lewandowski and his team mates capitalised on mistakes.

After a shaky opening, the Swedes quickly grew into the game and winger Emil Forsberg should have given them the lead but Wojciech Szczesny pulled off the first of a string of fine saves to turn the ball behind for a corner in the 19th minute, according to Reuters.

The home side also struggled as Sweden winger Dejan Kulusevski twice went close before the playoff final turned on a clumsy mistake by Jesper Karlstroem.

The Swedish midfielder mistimed a challenge in the box early in the second half and ended up bundling Poland substitute Grzegorz Krychowiak to the ground, with Italian referee Daniele Orsato immediately pointing to the spot.

Up stepped Poland captain Lewandowski to send Robin Olsen the wrong way as he confidently struck his low spot kick into the net for his 75th international goal.

The Swedes threw caution to the wind and poured forward, with Szczesny getting down smartly to deny Forsberg again and Victor Lindelof sending the resulting corner just wide with a glancing header.

Just as the visitors looked to be on the verge of scoring, a mix-up between Kristoffer Olsson and Marcus Danielson allowed Zielinski to score as he curled the ball into the net at the near post in the 73rd minute, Reuters reported.

The Swedes brought their record scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic off the bench for the final 10 minutes but Szczesny and the Polish defence held firm in front of a capacity crowd to secure their country’s spot at the World Cup.

Defender Kamil Glik was delighted to come out on top in the winner-take-all playoff clash.

“It was new for all of us – for me, for Robert (Lewandowski), who had played many matches but he hadn’t played one like this, none of us had. It was a very tough match from this point of view,” Glik, who played with a muscle injury, told Polish TV.

“I wasn’t interested in what would happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next week, next year. All that mattered was the here and now. We won and I’m very happy,” he added.

Rajasthan Royals defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 61 runs in an Indian Premier League match on Tuesday, The IndianExpress reported.

Sent into bat, Rajasthan Royals scored 210 for six in their stipulated 20 overs. Skipper Sanju Samson top-scored with a 55 off 27 balls and Devdutt Padikkal made 41 in 29 deliveries after opener Jos Buttler laid the foundation with a 28-ball 35 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

Towards the end, Shimron Hetmyer blasted 32 off 13 balls. In reply, SRH were stopped at 149 for seven, according to The IndianExpress.

Gujarat Titans defeated Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets to start their IPL journey on a winning note, Hindustan Times reported.

Chasing 159 for the win, Rahul Tewatia (40 not out) and Abhinav Manohar (15*) held nerves and took Gujarat past the finish line with two balls to spare.

Earlier, pacer Dushmantha Chameera removed Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar early in the powerplay to leave Gujarat Titans reeling at 44 for two after first six overs at the Wankhede Stadium. Skipper Hardik Pandya joined Matthew Wade after his team lost two early wickets in the chase, according to Hindustan Times.

Hardik and Wade added a 50 partnership but perished in quick succession. For Lucknow, Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni put up a rescue act to add a 50-run stand.

The pair bailed Lucknow Super Giants from a precarious situation as Lucknow reached 158 for six in 20 overs. Shami (3/25) produced one of the most breath-taking spells in the IPL before Hooda and Badoni resurrected the Lucknow innings, Hindustan Times reported.