LUSAIL, November 29
A second half brace from a stunning Bruno Fernandes fired Portugal into the last-16 stage of the World Cup on Monday to join France and Brazil, after a 2-0 win that outclassed an uninspiring Uruguay given little chance to get into the match.
For a Portugal whose World Cup narrative has so far been crafted by the controversy and brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo, the night belonged to Fernandes, who shone throughout and always looked threatening.
His first goal set the tone for the match, with a 54th minute cross intended for Ronaldo that sailed fortuitously into the net, before a perfectly executed spot-kick in stoppage time that guaranteed his side’s passage to the knockouts with a match remaining.
Ronaldo had celebrated the first goal ecstatically as his own and smiled awkwardly as it was announced as belonging to Fernandes, who twice came close to completing a hat-trick in the dying moments.
The win was the third time at a World Cup that Portugal have won two successive group stage matches, and the previous two times led to streaks into the semifinals.
Fernandes played down talk of his starring role and said his focus was the next match against South Korea and getting a perfect nine points for Portugal.
2 ND Senegal qualified for the knockouts only for the second time. They made the quarters in 2002
“What’s important is we were able to go on to the next round and very important was the win against a tough opponent,” he said. “Our objective is to think match after match and we have to do our best because we obviously want to win all the matches.”
Uruguay, the dark horses in a succession of World Cups, looked nothing like the side that knocked Portugal out in the last-16 in Russia in 2018 and struggled to get into the match as the European side piled on pressure from the start and never relented.
Portugal had the lion’s share of the possession and pressed continuously but laboured in the final third and lacked clear-cut scoring chances until the second half, in a game where Uruguay were scrappy, off kilter and lacking initiative.
The result leaves Uruguay with a difficult final match against Ghana, who kept themselves in contention by beating South Korea 3-2 in the earlier Group H match.
Ronaldo had a few flashes of flair that drew loud roars from the Lusail stadium crowd, including a moment three minutes in when he used his shoulder to redirect a long throw into the path of William Carvalho, whose powerful volley sailed over the bar. — Reuters
My goal could have been Ronaldo’s: Bruno
Melbourne: Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes said a goal awarded to him — the first of his two in the win over Uruguay — might in fact have been scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, but what mattered was securing Portugal’s place in the World Cup’s next phase.
Fernandes was named as the scorer of Portugal’s opening goal in the 54th minute when his cross seemed to sail just past the head of Ronaldo and dropped into the net with Uruguayan goalkeeper Sergio Rochet confused by Ronaldo’s leap. Portugal’s captain appeared to be claiming the goal with his celebrations and was then seen laughing when Fernandes was announced as the official scorer on the stadium’s loudspeakers.
“The feeling I had was that Cristiano touched the ball. I was passing the ball to him,” Fernandes told reporters. “What matters is that we’re going through to the next round after playing a very tough opponent.” Reuters
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