Two goals from Bruno Fernandes put Portugal past Uruguay and into the World Cup Round of 16 in the last game of the tournament’s second matchday. The Manchester United midfielder opened the scoring after a cagey first half and doubled his tally from the spot during stoppage time.
Uruguay paid for their wastefulness upfront as neither Edinson Cavani nor Luis Suarez, who replaced him in the second half, could live up to their goalscorers fame. The best man among the Celeste lines was Rodrigo Bentancur, but he also wasted a close chance after coming up with the best action in the game.
Portugal thus got their revenge after being eliminated by Uruguay four years ago in a Round of 16 matchup as tonight’s win earned them a ticket to the last 16 showdown. To qualify for the knockouts, Uruguay will need to beat Ghana in the final match of the pool on Friday and hope that South Korea does not get the W over the already-qualified Iberians.
The first half of tonight’s game was a Portuguese monologue with their ball possession percentage peaking at 65%. However, the red-and-greens never really managed to test the opposition goalkeeper while Uruguay, on the other hand, came close to open the scoring with Bentancur.
The Tottenham man performed a spectacular solo progression into the box, embellished by a magic trick by which he disposed of Rúben Dias’s marking. Too bad that his conclusion was poor, tough credit must be given to Diogo Costa for his timely exit that reduced his shooting range.
The deadlock was broken on 54 minutes as Bruno Fernandes went for a cross to pick Cristiano Ronaldo in the box. CR7 didn’t seem to connect with the ball but his movement was enough to deceive goalie Sergio Rochet as the ball bounced into the back of the net. Was it Ronaldo’s goal? The FIFA ruled on that a few minutes later and awarded the goal to Fernandes.
The goal conceded woke up La Celeste as their coach Diego Alonso reshaped his whole front line. Maxi Gomez was sent in alongside Suarez, with also Giorgian De Arrascaeta and Facundo Pellistri making their entrance to support from the wings.
Maxi Gomez made Diogo Costa’s left post rattle with a terrific shot from outside the box, then Suarez missed a close range conversion that his four-year-ago self would surely have slotted home. De Arrascaeta found himself one-on-one with the Portuguese goalkeeper and tried to beat him with a lob but was denied.
That’s three clear missed chances for the Charrua, who could not but ultimately pay a price for their offensive woes. The way it happened though was quite unfair as Portugal were allowed a penalty that was questionable to say the least. José Maria Gimenez hit the ball with his hand while falling and that was enough for referee Alireza Faghani to point at the penalty spot.
With Cristiano Ronaldo already substituted, it was up to his former club teammate Bruno Fernandes to convert the spot kick, which he did brilliantly.
Fernandes also came close to bag a hattrick but Rochet pushed back his close range conversion, while his next, final shot crashed into the post. That was fair enough as a three-goal loss would have been too much of a punishment for Uruguay.
MATCH SCORECARD
November 28, 2022 – FIFA World Cup Group H
PORTUGAL – URUGUAY 2-0
SCORERS: 54′ Bruno Fernandes, 93′ Bruno Fernandes pen.
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PORTUGAL (4-3-1-2): Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Rúben Dias, Pepe, Nuno Mendes (42′ Raphael Guerreiro); Bernardo Silva, William Carvalho (82′ Joao Palhinha), Ruben Neves (69′ Rafael Leao); Bruno Fernandes; Cristiano Ronaldo (37′ Goncalo Ramos), Joao Felix (82′ Vitinha) (Rui Patricio, Diogo Dalot, André Silva, José Sá, Joao Mario, Ricardo Horta, António Silva) Coach: Fernando Santos |
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URUGUAY (3-5-2): Rochet; Gimenez, Godin (62′ Pellistri), Coates; Varela, Vecino (62′ De Arrascaeta), Bentancur, Valverde, Olivera; D. Nunez (73′ M. Gomez), Cavani (73′ Suarez) (Muslera, De La Cruz, Sosa, Torreira, F. Torres, Caceres, Canobbio, Ugarte, J. L. Rodriguez) Coach: Alonso |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Bentancur, Olivera (U), Rúben Dias, Ruben Neves (P); Added Time: 1st Half 3′, 2nd Half 9′
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