A brace from Bruno Fernandes gave Portugal a win on Monday 2-0 over Uruguay and the early ticket to the round of 16 of the Qatar World Cup 2022while the ‘Celeste’ the pass to the crosses is complicated.
The Manchester United midfielder opened the account fortuitously at 54 minutes, when he searched for a cross from Cristiano Ronaldowho jumped to head but did not touch the ball and with that movement disconcerted a slow light blue goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, and sentenced in the penalty discount (90 + 3).
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Portugal vs Uruguay: confirmed lineups for today’s game for Qatar 2022
Portugal: Diogo Costa; Nuno Mendes, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo; William Carvalho, Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva; Joa Feliz, Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Uruguay: Sergio Rochet; Sebastian Coates, Diego Godin, Jose Gimenez; Guillermo Varela, Federico Valverde, Matías Vecino, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mathias Olivera; Darwin Núñez, Edinson Cavani.
Portugal vs Uruguay: transmission MINUTE by MINUTE of today’s match
This is how Uruguay arrives
There is no future for Uruguay in the World Cup if there is no present before. Diego Alonso, his coach, warned him on the eve of his debut. The target is set. It is the maximum. The path is not laid out. Not much less traveled. The sky-blue team can only allow themselves to look, today, at the most immediate, at their duel against Portugal, which has much less pressure, because they have earned the right to make mistakes by beating Ghana 3-2 in the opening game on Thursday .
The Uruguayan team did not do it, which sailed into nowhere for more than 70 minutes against South Korea (0-0), reduced to very little at the beginning of its adventure in the tournament, because the first half never deciphered how and where pressing, so essential for the team, with the consequence that it has in the current classification of its group, the H.
Shared second place with the Asian block, such a scenario requires a win this Monday essential to discuss the leadership of Cristiano Ronaldo and company, among the warning of the effect of defeat. He would not eliminate it now, but he would put it to the limit, to the point that even the equalizer would not be enough for him in the last meeting against Ghana. Opposite, the Portuguese team will mathematically advance to the round of 16 with a simple victory in Lusail.
Encouraged by their supporters this Sunday at the hotel, the scene of a ‘flag’, Uruguay needs to recover the identity of previous matches, far from the uncertainty of last Thursday. Also the best version of its footballers to rediscover the level of a group that, under the command of Diego Alonso, has only lost one of its ten games (0-1 with Iran in a friendly), with only two goals against in all that journey (that and one goal that Venezuela scored), with 19 goals in favor and eight games unbeaten.
This is how Portugal arrives
Portugal breathes differently on the second day. It was not an incontestable selection, or anything like that, but it scored three goals, won and fulfilled its purpose, also with two reunions that awaken faith in the Portuguese team: Cristiano Ronaldo, scorer for the fifth consecutive World Cup, a feat within his reach only , and Joao Félix, whose bleak future at Atlético de Madrid contrasts with his relaunch with the national team.
While Uruguay maintains the loss of Ronald Araujo, already for two months out of the competition due to the avulsion in the long adductor of the right thigh suffered on September 23 against Iran, between the controversy of his desire to play in the World Cup and the recovery that Barcelona understands, his club, that the footballer must follow, without taking any risk, Portugal regrets the last-minute injury of central defender Danilo Pereira.
Crucial in the Portuguese scheme, starting on the first matchday against Ghana, he opens a hole in the center of defense, which will either be for the seniority of Pepe, at 39, or for the young defensive talent from Benfica Antonio Silva, with 19. In addition, Santos is pending the doubts of Otavio and Nuno Mendes, who, even being ready, will not form in the eleven. In it they will be Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Félix or Bernardo Silva.
Portugal vs Uruguay: probable alignments.
Portugal: Diogo Costa; Cancelo, Rubén Dias, Pepe or Antonio Silva, Warrior; William Carvalho, Rubén Neves, Bruno Fernandes; Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Félix.
Uruguay: Rochet; Caceres, Godin, Gimenez, Oliveira; Valverde, Bentancur, Neighbor or Torreira, Nico De la Cruz or Arrascaeta; Suarez and Darwin Nunez.
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran).
Estadio: Lusail Stadium.
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