Portugal advanced from the group stage with a 2-0 win over Uruguay
Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, beat Uruguay 2-0 in their Group H match at the Qatar World Cup on Saturday night to qualify for the Group H tournament for the second time in a row.
Portugal, who narrowly beat Ghana in the last round, brought in 39-year-old centre-back Pepe in place of the injured Pereira, with captain Cristiano Ronaldo partnering Felix in front. Uruguay, who continue to stick with three strikers, dropped 35-year-old Luis Suarez in favour of Edinson Cavani.
Uruguay, who had only one point in hand and had to win to regain the initiative to advance from the group stage, began to attack from the start and goalkeeper Costa was shocked by Valverde’s second-minute shot from behind. Then the game went into a see-saw battle. In the 33rd minute, Uruguay’s Bentankour missed a chance to open the scoring after weaving a shot past two defenders. Easy side again, the Portuguese desire to attack suddenly awakened, first in the 54th minute Felix in the box with a powerful shot just wide. After that, Fernandes hit the ball from the left side of the rib and Ronaldo flew in front of the goal, causing the disturbed Uruguayan goalkeeper Lochte to watch the ball fly into the net. Slow-motion replays showed the Portugal captain did not touch the ball and the goal went to Fernandes. The video assistant referee (VAR) confirmed that a penalty was awarded in stoppage time after a Uruguay defender fell to the ground in the penalty area and blocked Fernandez’s path. Fernandes put the game out of reach in the 93rd minute with a safe penalty.
In the final group round, Portugal will play South Korea and Uruguay will play Ghana
Post time: Nov-29-2022