Cristiano Ronaldo has refused to clarify whether he
deliberately got himself booked during Portugal's 1-1 draw with Israel.
The result, coupled with Russia's 4-0 win over
Luxembourg, means Portugal is all but certain to miss out on automatic
qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup from Group F of the European section.
Portugal sits three points adrift of Fabio Capello's men
with an inferior goal difference going into the final qualifiers and is likely
to feature in the play-offs.
Captain Ronaldo was booked late on in the game in Lisbon
for dissent, leading to speculation that he may have picked up a yellow card on
purpose so he could miss his country's final group qualifier against Luxembourg
on Tuesday evening (Wednesday morning AEDT).
However, the Real Madrid star has denied he deliberately
earned a caution so he could take a clean disciplinary record into the
play-offs.
"FIFA is always very attentive to those
situations," Ronaldo said. "The play-off is the most important and I
don't want to be out. I will be at those two matches."
When asked on potential opponents in the play-offs,
Ronaldo highlighted France - which looks set to finish second behind Spain in
Group I - as the main threat.
"France are the strongest we may face," he
continued. "They are the only ones I do not want to face."
Ronaldo's Real team-mate Pepe is also banned for
Portugal's final qualifier.
Culled from World game
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