Ronaldo certain of Portugal qualification

Cristiano Ronaldo says that he has ‘no doubt’ that Portugal will qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

The Portuguese winger will not play any part in his country’s play-off ties with Bosnia after failing to recover from an ankle injury.

Ronaldo travelled to Lisbon to have the extent of his injury assessed by the national team’s medical staff despite Real Madrid claiming that he was not fit.

The 24-year-old winger revealed his frustration after it was confirmed he would play no part in the crucial qualifiers.

“It’s a huge frustration that I cannot help Portugal, and more so in a moment as decisive as the play-off against Bosnia,” he said.

“Nobody at this point, feels more sad than me, because to represent Portugal never stopped being one of the greatest moments of pride I feel as a professional footballer and as a citizen but now I have no alternative but to encourage my team from the outside.”

“I’ll be at the stadium to support my team-mates. I am sure that keeping the spirit that we have witnessed, with unity, humility and solidarity, we will impose the quality of our football.

“In the end I will be with the team to celebrate the first of two steps that define our qualification for the World Cup. I have no doubt that we will be there.”