Cristiano on the sidelines: Fernandes double takes Portugal to the playoffs
The Portuguese have secured the first place in group "H", but nothing is clear with the second ticket.
The match between Portugal and Uruguay ended the 2nd round of the group stage at the World Cup in Qatar. In the 1st round in group "H" the Portuguese beat Ghana - 3:2, and the Uruguayans played on zero with South Korea. In the first match of the day in the group, the Africans pulled out a victory from the South Koreans and equaled on points with the team of Cristiano Ronaldo.
After the starting whistle, the rivals did not hesitate for a long time and started right off the bat. The first shot on goal happened already in the 3rd minute of the meeting: Oliver shot above the crossbar of the Portuguese goal. Just as soon, the blows to the legs began. Dias narrowly escaped injury, while the Uruguayan did not escape the yellow card.
By the middle of the first half, the Portuguese pressed the opponent to the gate, earned free kicks and corners. But nothing could be squeezed out of the advantage.
Uruguay could open the scoring in the match. Bentancur from his own half brought the ball to the penalty area of the Portuguese, beat two defenders and shot low, but Costa blocked the blow. And a few minutes later he either hit himself or made a pass from the 11-meter mark to Cavani, but the forward did not reach the ball. This is where the really sharp moments of the first 45 minutes ended. Of the important - Portugal had a forced replacement, sending Mendes to heal injuries.
But in the second half, Portugal scored a goal. Fernandes received a pass on the left corner of someone else's penalty area and almost immediately threw it into the goalkeeper's line, where it seemed that Ronaldo corrected the ball in a jump with his head. But when viewed in detail, it is noticeable: the star of the Portuguese national team did not touch the ball even with the tips of her hair.
The Uruguayans could compare by taking advantage of the Portuguese goalkeeper's mistake. A bit of luck for Valverde, and the ball would have ended up in an empty net after Costa's unsuccessful clearance. But - just from the gate.
Suarez, who came on as a substitute, almost equalized: he received the ball in the goalkeeper's area after a free kick, hit from an acute angle, but hit the net from the outside. A minute later, Georgian tried to throw Costa, but he stopped the ball with his hand.
The closer the whistle was, the more intense the game was and the more often the Uruguayans pressed on. But one absurd mistake in his penalty crossed out the chances of the Latin Americans at least for a draw. Penalty in the third added minute - and Fernandes scores again, bringing the Portuguese a landslide victory.
The Portuguese team is definitely going further. Even if Ghana defeats Uruguay, it will not overtake the Europeans in additional indicators. Latin Americans, to go further, need to beat the Africans and count on Portugal to crack down on South Korea.
Match protocol
Portugal - Uruguay - 2:0 (0:0)
November 28. Lusail. Lusail Stadium.
Referee - Fagani (Iran).
Portugal: Costa, Cancelo, Dias, Pepe, Mendes (Guerreiro 42), B. Silva, Neves (Leau 69), Carvalho (Paglinha 82), B. Fernandes, Ronaldo (Ramos 82), Felix (Nunes, 82).
Uruguay: Rochet, Coates, Godin (Pellistri 62), Jimenez, Varela, Valverde, Bentancur, Vesino (de Arrascaeta 62), Olivera (Vina 86), Cavani (Suarez 73), Nunez (Gomez 72).
Goals: 1-0 Fernandes (54), 2-0 Fernandes (90+3 pen.)
Booked: Neves (38), Felix (77), Dias (89) - Bentancourt (6), Olivera (44).