Manchester City star Joao Cancelo has praised his Portugal teammate Bruno Fernandes on Instagram – after the Manchester United ace scored twice in a 2-0 Portugal win over North Macedonia to qualify for the World Cup.
Portugal faced North Macedonia, the side who beat Italy earlier in the international break, for a place at the World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Jota missed chances, it was Fernandes that had his shooting boots on.
Ronaldo laid off Fernandes to score the first, nutmegging an opposing defender before his Manchester United teammate slashed home an effort from 18 yards. He made it two in the second half, to win 2-0.
Cancelo posted on Instagram after the match, underlining his delight at Portugal qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year.
Manchester City ace Cancelo praises Manchester United star Fernandes
It was a solid performance from Portugal, who – bar a couple of late penalty shouts from their minnow opponents – took their place at the tournament at the end of the season. Fernandes and Cancelo will be crucial for Portugal.
Until then, the two will remain rivals at the top end of the Premier League – but there is clearly a mutual respect for eachother. That is confirmed in the comments section on Cancelo’s post.
Fernandes replied to Cancelo’s post, saying: “It’s easy to play by your side.” Cancelo responded, praising the £47million (BBC) United star: “You already know brother, you make things easy.”
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