Darko Churlinov dreams of taking part in the World Cup after the North Macedonian national team beat Italy. On Saturday he talked about it on ZDF.
The North Macedonia international Darko Churlinov from the FC Schalke 04 hopes after the coup against Italy for the next great moment in football for the small country in the playoff final on Tuesday. “Hopefully it’s another day when you can say we made history,” said the 21-year-old winger, who has been loaned to S04 by VfB Stuttgart this season, on ZDF on Saturday evening.
The North Macedonians are just one game away from taking part in the World Cup in Qatar later this year. They will meet Portugal in the final of the qualifying playoffs in Lisbon on Tuesday evening (8.45 p.m.). “It would be a moment that will last a lifetime. It’s up to us to create it,” Churlinov said of North Macedonia’s chance to secure a ticket to the World Cup for the first time in history.
Churlinov on Portugal: Can keep up
Against Portugal, the 67th in the world rankings is again a clear outsider. Before the duel with the star ensemble around Cristiano Ronaldo, Churlinov was “optimistic because I believe in the team and our quality”. According to Churlinov, Portugal is a great soccer nation with a lot of individual class, “but we can keep up there”.
The Eastern Europeans had already demonstrated that impressively last Thursday against Italy. In the 90th minute they scored the 1-0 winning goal, after that there was no stopping them. “You can’t describe it in words. It was an amazing feeling to win against the European champions,” he said, looking back at the sensation. “A small country with a big heart managed to beat them.”
Schalke loan player Churlinov set in the national team
Churlinov had played through against Italy. In general, he has not played an unimportant part in the success of the North Macedonians so far. Schalke (16 second division appearances, two goals, two assists) have been in the starting XI in all eight qualifying games since last summer’s European Championship, and the North Macedonians have only lost once – against the DFB team.
Offensive Churlinov, who came to Germany as a teenager, made his debut in the national team at the age of 16 and turned professional with 1. FC Köln, also has excellent prospects of a starting place against Portugal. “The euphoria is great, everyone is celebrating that we won against the European champions and are now in the final,” he said on ZDF about the mood in the country before the final. “But as footballers we have to put the euphoria aside and focus on Portugal.” with sid
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