Doha: A brace from Bruno Fernandes helped Portugal to a 2-0 win over Uruguay and a place in the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup.
Portugal’s second successive win took them to six points and to the top of the Group H standings leaving Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea to fight for the second qualification spot from the group.
Portugal joins Brazil and France, the other two teams which have made it to the knockout stage so far.
Portugal started well on the ball, enjoying the lion’s share of possession but Uruguay fashioned the best chance. Rodrigo Bentancur worked his way brilliantly through Portugal’s defence but squandering the game’s best chance in the 33rd minute, firing straight at Diogo Costa from a one-on-one situation.
At the other end Bruno worked hard, winning 100 per cent of his tackles, registering a 93 per cent pass accuracy rate and generally stringing play together for his side and with Joao Felix looking lively for Portugal on the left, Uruguay had a handful to deal with.
An attempt from distance from Joao flew wide but marked a warning shot for Uruguay, from the 23-year-old Atletico Madrid star.
Portugal continued to dominate possession but could not create a clear-cut chance while Uruguay struggled to get any control of the ball.
Bruno’s first goal was initially credited to his former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo but thereafter credited to Bruno.
In a breakthrough move Bruno’s cross was travelling towards the net, Ronaldo tried to produce a glancing header but did not make contact which ended up in the back of the nets after eluding Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet’s reach. Ronaldo celebrated wildly, but Bruno was officially credited with the goal.
USA set to face Netherlands in knockout stage
Doha: A decisive strike by Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic seven minutes into the second session broke Iranian hearts while helping USA to a 1-0 win in a match which drew interest on and off the field considering the long-standing political hostilities between the two countries.
At the Al Thumama Stadium, the Chelsea striker scored the only goal of the match in the 43rd minute. Pulisic’s lone strike took them into the last-16 stage where they will take on The Netherlands.
The US, returning to the World Cup for the first time in eight years, thus finished with five points with one win and two draws and sailed into the knock outs as group runners up and will face The Netherlands, the winners of Group A. The USA have two draws, 1-1 with Wales and 0-0 against England.
Iran, who were thrashed 6-2 by England but recovered to beat Wales 2-0, finished with three points, for the 2-0 win over Wales, who were returning to the World cup after a 64 years absence lost all their league matches.
