Bruno Fernandes scored both goals as Portugal secured their place in the round of 16 of the World Cup by beating Uruguay 2-0 at Lusail Stadium.
The Manchester United midfielder broke the stalemate in a Group H sketchy match when his 54th-minute cross aimed at Cristiano Ronaldo settled in the far corner.
He then scored with a stoppage time penalty and nearly scored a hat-trick when Fernando Santos’ team joined France and Brazil to seal a play-off berth with a spare game.
With this win, Portugal avenged their 2–1 loss to Uruguay in the round of 16 of the 2018 tournament in Russia.
2 – Portugal won two consecutive victories in #Soccer World Cup for the first time since the 2006 edition (4). Solid.#POR #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/WIjLTzrKka
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 28, 2022
In the first half hour, the chances did not fall freely, neither side recorded a shot on target. A nice volley from William Carvalho was too high and José Jimenez landed a header right over the bar.
The first attempt on target in the 32nd minute nearly secured one of the goals of the tournament when Rodrigo Bentancur made a playful attempt to break through the Portuguese defence.
But the Uruguayan midfielder’s performance let him down as he fired straight at Diogo Costa, right on target.
La Celeste were aiming to be the first nation to record six consecutive clean sheets in the World Cup group stage, but they were booked when João Félix hit the side net in the 51st minute.
Three minutes later, Fernandes opened the scoring when his centre, with whom Ronaldo initially appeared to be loosely connected, evaded Sergio Roche.
Uruguay looked to respond when Maximiliano Gómez shook the post and Luis Suárez hit the side net, but Portugal sealed the win when Fernandes, who was involved in the penalty kick, fired calmly from 12 yards after VAR penalized Jiménez for handballing.
Fernandes came close to completing his hat-trick twice in the last minutes, Rocher saved a volley before the woodwork shook from 20 yards.
What does it mean? Two wins out of two for Portugal
For only the third time in their World Cup history, Portugal have won their first two group games in a final.
A good omen is that on both previous occasions – in 1966 and 2006 – they reached the semi-finals.
Uruguay failed to score in three consecutive World Cup matches for only the second time and advanced to the third round, finishing bottom of the group.
Fernandes on double
It was a unique brace for Fernandes – FIFA first credited his first goal to Ronaldo, who insisted he scored the goal – before deciding in favor of the midfielder.
Fernandez’s brace came from six scoring shots in the game, while his tally of 83 was also the highest on record, with no player recording more touches in the opponent’s box (five) or crosses (five, on par with Guillermo Varela) than the United midfielder. .
He has been directly involved in eight goals in his last five matches for Portugal (scoring five and providing three assists), getting his international form in perfect timing.
Quiet Cavani
Edinson Cavani, who scored twice when the countries met in Russia four years ago, returned to the starting XI ahead of Luis Suarez.
However, the veteran striker landed just one shot on goal – a volley early in the second half that he pulled wide – while no other starter had fewer touches than him (21).
Opta key features:
– Portugal have scored in each of their last eight World Cup matches, and this is their best result in the competition.
– Only Brazil (0) and Ecuador (1) have faced fewer shots on target at the 2022 World Cup than Uruguay (3), which conceded two of the three they faced in this game.
– Portugal defeated a South American team in the World Cup for the first time since 1966 (3:1 against Brazil).
– At 39 years and 275 days old, Portuguese defender Pepe became the third-oldest outfield player in World Cup history behind only Roger Milla (42 years, 39 days) and Atiba Hutchinson (39 years, 292 days).
What’s next?
Santos could rest his players and change his squad for Portugal’s Group H final against South Korea on Friday. On the same day, Uruguay must beat Ghana to have a chance of reaching the round of 16.