Cristiano Ronaldo has made it clear to the Northern Macedonians that Portugal is not the same as Italy or the other big teams they defeated in the World Cup qualifying series for 2022.

Italy, the current European champions, were startled 1-0 by North Macedonia last week, thereby eliminating their chances of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, but Ronaldo insists that such a shock will not be repeated.

At a press conference ahead of the encounter on Monday, Ronaldo said that "Macedonia surprised everyone, but they will not surprise us."

"Portugal will improve and qualify for the World Cup," he said.

The 37-year-old football great also urged his country's fans to be as vocal as they were during last week's 3-1 victory over Turkey.

Portugal overcame Turkey 3-1 to set up a match against Macedonia on Tuesday.

"I'd like to sing our national anthem with no accompaniment."

"I'm convinced we'll win if they're as good as they were on Thursday," Ronaldo remarked.