Portuguese and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo does not want his country to face France in the potential play-off for the World Cup.

"In theory, France is the strongest side. There could be a lot of interest in this game and for that reason I think it's best to avoid it. If there is one team to avoid it's France, for several reasons", he said without specifying the reasons.

"I'm not going to speak about it because I'll be punished", the forward added when interviewed by journalists after Portugal's draw with Israel, which virtually killed off the side's chances of a direct route to the World Cup.