FIFA World Cup 2022: Portugal vs Uruguay: Bruno Fernandes brace takes Portugal to the last 16 after 2-0 win

The crunch encounter saw Portugal dominating the possession but Uruguay fought hard after going behind, but couldn’t rescue anything from the match.

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As it happened:

Portugal came into the match on top of Group H as Uruguay sat third in the group.

The European side started with more conviction in the match as with creative players like Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo, they looked like the more threatening side. Uruguay had the biggest chance of the half as Rodrigo Bentancur went clear but his shot was brilliantly saved by Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa. Five minutes before halftime, Nuno Mendes suffered an injury and was forced to come off. He left the pitch in tears as he was substituted by Raphael Guerrero. Portugal dominated the ball while Uruguay had the best chance, but neither could break the deadlock as the break approached.

Portugal took the lead through Bruno Fernandes in the 54th minute. Bruno Fernandes’ cross went straight in as the Uruguay goalkeeper was left stranded. It was more end-to-end stuff after that as Uruguay came out of their shell and became more adventurous, in search of an equalizer. Substitute Maximilliano Gomez came close for the La Celeste but was denied by the post.

Uruguay asked further questions but Luis Suarez and Giorgian De Arrascaeta failed to take their chances. Portugal got a late penalty after a VAR interference deemed handball from Uruguay player Jose Gimenez. And Bruno Fernandes sealed the scoreline with a perfect penalty to give Portugal a massive 2-0 victory.

Portugal vs Uruguay Lineup:

Portugal: Costa; Cancelo, Dias, Pepe, Mendes (Guerrero); Fernandes, Neves (Leao), Carvalho (Nunes); Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo (Palhinha), Felix (Ramos)

Uruguay: Rochet; Coates, Godin (Pellistri), Gimenez; Varela, Valverde, Vecino (Arrascaeta), Bentancur, Olivera (Vina); Nunez (Gomez), Cavani (Suarez)

Aftermath:

With the win, Portugal have booked their knockout berth. Uruguay are rooted at the bottom of the table after the loss. Portugal will be taking on South Korea while Uruguay face Ghana in their respective final group stage fixture. Both matches start on 2nd December at the same time (20.30 IST).

Key Stats and Facts:

• Uruguay became the fifth team in this World Cup to complete less than 100 passes in the first half as they fell 2 short of the mark.
• Bruno Fernandes never scored a goal in any international tournament for Portugal before the match. He scored 2 in 45 minutes. He also registered 6 shots in the match.
• Rodrigo Bentancur of Uruguay won two tackles and also completed 2 dribbles.
• Portugal completed 501 passes in the match compared to Uruguay’s 294. William Carvalho (POR) completed the most passes with 60.