Portugal 2-2 Uruguay: What’s your prediction?
Portugal could qualify early for the next phase of the World Cup with a game remaining if they beat Uruguay on Monday, a task probably much easier said than done.
Uruguay have the World Cup edge in winning the tournament twice, albeit a few generations ago, and are more than familiar with Portugal, having knocked them out of the contest in 2018 in the round of 16.
Although Cristiano Ronaldo stole the show on Thursday, his team lacked inspiration and have much to do to shake off a dismal run of World Cup form since reaching the semi-finals in 2006.
Uruguay, while failing to score any goals or even record any shots on target in their opener against a gritty South Korea on Thursday, were composed, organised and like a team capable of another deep World Cup run, with veterans and neophytes combining seamlessly and moving the ball with confidence.
All five goals of Portugal's opening game came in a frenetic final 25 minutes likened by coach Fernando Santos to a storm. He said he is untroubled going into the Uruguay match because he knows what needs fixing.
"It's nothing I'm worried about because I know that my players can do better than that, but that's football," he said. "I am totally confident that they can perform much better than this."
When?
29th November, 01:00 am, Bangladesh time
Where?
Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar
Capacity: 80,000
Head-to-head
Matches 3
Portugal 1
Uruguay 1
Draw 1
Probable lineups
Portugal: (4-3-3) Costa (GK), Cancelo, Dias, Pepe, Guerreiro, Bernardo, Neves, Carvalho; Fernandes, Ronaldo, Felix
Uruguay: (4-3-3) Pochet (GK), Caceres, Godin, Gimenez, Olivera, Valverde, Bentancur, Vecino, Pellistri, Suarez, Nunez
Key stats:
* Portugal made their World Cup debut in England in 1966, knocking out champions Brazil, reaching the semi-finals and finishing in third place - their best result so far.
* Portugal's veteran striker Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading scorer in the history of men's international football, with 118 goals for his nation.
* Portugal began their Group H campaign with a thrilling 3-2 win over Ghana where Ronaldo became the first player to score in five World Cups.
* Double World Cup winners Uruguay won the inaugural tournament in their capital Montevideo in 1930 and lifted it again in 1950 by upsetting hosts Brazil.
* Uruguay finished third behind Brazil and Argentina in South America's qualifiers, veteran forward Luis Suarez top-scoring with eight goals.
* Uruguay drew 0-0 with South Korea in their opening Group H game.
Previous meetings:
Portugal and Uruguay have played each other three times, with one win each - including the South Americans' victory at the 2018 World Cup - and a draw.
Prediction: Portugal 2-2 Uruguay
Following is a statbox on Portugal at the World Cup.
FIFA Ranking: 9
Odds: 12-1
Previous tournaments:
Portugal made their World Cup debut in England in 1966, knocking out champions Brazil and reaching the semi-finals, finishing in third place, which is their best result in the tournament. They participated only once between 1966 and 1998, in Mexico 1986, but have qualified for every edition since 2002. They reached the semis again in 2006, losing 1-0 to France. Since then they have not got further than the last 16, losing to eventual champions Spain in 2010 and to Uruguay in 2018. In Brazil 2014 they were knocked out in the group stage.
How they qualified:
Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal had to go through the pain of the playoffs after losing 2-1 at home in their final group stage game against Serbia to an Aleksandar Mitrovic goal in added time when they only needed a draw to reach Qatar as Group A winners. Instead, they had to beat Turkey (3-1) and North Macedonia (2-0) in playoff games at Porto to book their trip to the tournament.
Following is a statbox on Uruguay at the World Cup.
FIFA ranking: 14
Odds: 50/1
Previous tournaments:
Uruguay won the inaugural World Cup in their capital Montevideo in 1930 and lifted it again in 1950 by upsetting hosts Brazil. After failing to qualify for three out of four World Cups between 1994 and 2006 and exiting at the group stage in the other, Uruguay reached the semi-finals in 2010 - the furthest they had gone since 1970. More recently, they lost to Colombia in the last 16 in 2014 and fell to eventual champions France in the quarter-finals in Russia four years ago.
How they qualified:
Uruguay's gruelling 18-round qualification campaign began with long-serving coach Oscar Tabarez in charge and ended under Diego Alonso, who sealed their World Cup place after presiding over four straight wins since taking over in December.
Tabarez was undone by a combination of injuries and a punishing run of fixtures - Uruguay suffered heavy defeats away to Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia in a four-game losing streak before getting back on track under Alonso.
Veteran forward Luis Suarez top-scored with eight goals as Uruguay won eight games and netted 22 times but conceded just as many, finishing third behind Brazil and Argentina.