Portugal will look one step closer to qualification in the 2022 FIFA World Cup knockout round when they take on Uruguay at Lusail Iconic Stadium.
Venue: Lusail Iconic Stadium
Key statistics
Portugal have won four of their last five second group stage games (D1) by a combined score of 16-2.
They have scored 3+ goals in three of their last five games.
Uruguay have lost just one of their last ten games (W7, D2).
They have kept eight clean sheets in their last ten games.
Six goals have been scored on or beyond the 80th minute across Portugal’s last four matches.
World Cup trivia: The record for the fastest red card in World Cup history (52 seconds) belongs to Uruguay defender Jose Batista from 1986. He committed the foul in the 39th second, and it took the referee 13 seconds to show the card.
Head to head
Uruguay beat Portugal 2-1 in the 2018 World Cup in the only official meeting between both sides to date.
Latest performances in all competitions
Portugal: W-W-L-W-L
Uruguay: D-W-L-W-D
Portugal
Portugal produced one of the most exciting second halves of this year’s World Cup when they scored three second-half goals to beat Ghana 3-2 in Doha last time.
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, who made history by becoming the first male player to score in five different world Cups, Joao Felix and Rafael Leao, sealed the win for Fernando Santo’s men.
The result was only the fourth time in World Cup history at least five goals were scored after a goalless first half and put Portugal in command of Group H.
After the match, Portugal boss Fernando Santo described Ronaldo as “one of the best players ever.” The former Manchester United man watched the final few moments from the bench as Portugal survived some hairy moments to secure a win in their World Cup opener for the first time since 2006.
Having secured a win in the first game, they will fancy their chances of getting another win here. The 2016 European champions have long proved they need some time to settle at football’s showpiece event but subsequently have a strong record in their second group stage game at the World Cup, winning four of their last five such games (D1) by a combined score 16-2.
Possible Portugal starting line-up
Diogo Costa, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Danilo Pereira, Raphael Guerreiro, William Carvalho, Bernardo Silva, Rúben Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo, João Félix.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Otavio, Nuno Mendes
Suspended: None
Uruguay
Uruguay could not find a way past a stubborn South Korean team in their first game, with both sides settling for a goalless draw that failed to produce a single shot on target.
Consequently, the inaugural World Cup winners have now gone 465 minutes without conceding a goal in the group stage of the World Cup, keeping five such consecutive clean sheets. England’s Wayne Rooney was the last player to score against them in a group-stage match in 2014.
That won’t surprise fans of The Sky Blue, with Uruguay preventing their opponents from scoring in eight of their ten matches in 2022. And so, they will come into this tie confident of getting a good result and qualifying for the round of 16.
The last time these two met in 2018, two strikes from Uruguay star Edinson Cavani was enough to send them to the quarter-finals, a stage Uruguay have reached in two of their last three World Cup participations. And so, head coach Diego Alonso will hope his side can repeat that performance in Russia and give themselves a chance to progress past this stage.
Possible Uruguay starting line-up
Sergio Rochet, Martin Caceres, Diego Godin, José Giménez, Mathías Olivera, Federico Valverde, Matias Vecino, Rodrigo Bentancur, Facundo Pellistri, Luis Suarez, Darwin Núñez.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Ronald Araujo
Suspended: None
Odds
| Portugal to win | Draw | Uruguay to win | |
| Odds | 1.95 | 3.50 | 4.20 |
| Probability (%) | 49 | 28 | 23 |
Prediction
Portugal 1-1 Uruguay
Live Stream
For details, FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 – TV Broadcast / Live Stream
