Uruguay have a perfect record thus far. Gimenez is the only injury doubt. Switched formation for Russia game.
Uruguay moved through to the last 16 of the World Cup with a perfect record thanks to a thumping 3-0 win over Russia on Monday. Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani scored either side of an own goal to give them a comfortable victory.
The South American side have won all three of their games at Russia 2018 thus far. They beat Egypt and Saudi Arabia 1-0 in their two previous outings, meaning that they have also yet to concede a single goal.
In 2018, they have played six matches in 2018 and have won them all. They have yet to concede a goal in those fixtures and have played only once at home.
On Monday, head coach Oscar Tabarez showed his side’s versatility by switching to a 3-5-2 formation, though he has more typically used a 4-4-2 since the beginning of the championship. Suarez and Cavani will remain the offensive duo, regardless of the set up elsewhere.
There is some concern over the fitness of Jose Maria Gimenez, who may miss out due to injury after a small muscular problem prevented him from facing Russia. Sebastian Coates and Martin Caceres played alongside Diego Godin in the defence. Gimenez returned to training on Wednesday, with the staff "optimistic" he will be fit in time to feature.
Lucas Torreira impressed in the midfield against Russia, having been drafted in to play along with Vecino and Rodrigo Bentancur, which may persuade the coach to retain a five-man midfield.
Uruguay have met Portugal twice previously and have yet to beat them, though the latest of these matches was in 1972.
Held to a 1-1 draw by Iran: risked incredible defeat at the last assault. Eventually achieved second place in Group B. Will have to face Uruguay next. Martins and Guerreiro with the group. Carvalho will have to pass a fitness test.
Portugal had some real troubles overcoming Iran during the first half, as the opponents managed to block all their offensive attempts. However, they eventually took the lead just before the break. They had the chance to kill the game off early on in the second half but Ronaldo wasted a penalty kick. With the passing of time, Iran became more aggressive and, in the injury time, they drew through a penalty kick and eventually had an incredible chance for taking all three points.
Quaresma was the hero of the night with a fantastic goal. Pepe was also decisive as he managed to stop several attacks from Iran. Carvalho, on the other hand, failed to impress and he seemed absent far too many times. Ronaldo missed a penalty kick and also risked picking up a red card: he hardly saw any balls in the attack, though, as his mates did not feed him with any.
Due to the draw against Iran, Portugal fell off the top of the Group B and had to content themselves with the second place. This way, they will have to face Uruguay next, in the last 16.
Guerreiro and Martins resumed regular training after shrugging off some muscular problems. Carvalho is a doubt due to fatigue: he resumed partial training with the group and will have to pass a fitness test. In case he had to miss out, Manuel Fernandes would be favourite over Moutinho as his replacement.
Ricardo Quaresma, Cedric, Raphael Guerreiro, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Adrien Silva are all one yellow card away from ban.
In the attack, Guedes should prevail over André Silva as Ronaldo's partner.
This is the third time only that Portugal meet Uruguay. They beat the South American side 3-0 once, back in 1966, and drew 1-1 once in 1972. Both matches were friendly ones.
4-3-1-2 Previous Line Ups
Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
---|---|---|---|
F. Muslera | |||
M. Caceres | |||
J. M. Gimenez | |||
D Godin | |||
D. Laxalt | |||
N. Nandez | |||
L. Torreira | |||
M. Vecino | |||
R. Bentancur | |||
L. Suarez | |||
E. Cavani |
4-4-2 Previous Line Ups
Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
---|---|---|---|
R. Patricio | |||
Cedric | |||
Pepe | |||
J. Fonte | |||
R. A. J. Guerreiro | |||
R. Quaresma | |||
Ad. Silva | |||
W. Carvalho | |||
J. Mario | |||
G. Guedes | |||
C. Ronaldo |
Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
---|---|---|---|
M. Campana | |||
M. Silva | |||
G. Silva | |||
M. Pereira | |||
G. Varela | |||
S. Coates | |||
G. De Arrascaeta | |||
C. Rodriguez | |||
C. Sanchez | |||
C. Stuani | |||
M. G. Gomez | |||
J. Urretaviscaya |
Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
---|---|---|---|
Beto P. | |||
A. Lopes | |||
B. Alves | |||
M. Rui | |||
R. Dias | |||
R. Pereira | |||
G. Martins | |||
B. Silva | |||
M. Fernandes | |||
J. Moutinho | |||
B. Fernandes | |||
An. Silva |
Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
---|---|---|---|
F. Muslera | |||
M. Caceres | |||
J. M. Gimenez | |||
D Godin | |||
D. Laxalt | |||
N. Nandez | |||
L. Torreira | |||
M. Vecino | |||
R. Bentancur | |||
L. Suarez | |||
E. Cavani |
Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
---|---|---|---|
M. Campana | |||
M. Silva | |||
G. Silva | |||
M. Pereira | |||
G. Varela | |||
S. Coates | |||
G. De Arrascaeta | |||
C. Rodriguez | |||
C. Sanchez | |||
C. Stuani | |||
M. G. Gomez | |||
J. Urretaviscaya |
Held to a 1-1 draw by Iran: risked incredible defeat at the last assault. Eventually achieved second place in Group B. Will have to face Uruguay next. Martins and Guerreiro with the group. Carvalho will have to pass a fitness test.
Portugal had some real troubles overcoming Iran during the first half, as the opponents managed to block all their offensive attempts. However, they eventually took the lead just before the break. They had the chance to kill the game off early on in the second half but Ronaldo wasted a penalty kick. With the passing of time, Iran became more aggressive and, in the injury time, they drew through a penalty kick and eventually had an incredible chance for taking all three points.
Quaresma was the hero of the night with a fantastic goal. Pepe was also decisive as he managed to stop several attacks from Iran. Carvalho, on the other hand, failed to impress and he seemed absent far too many times. Ronaldo missed a penalty kick and also risked picking up a red card: he hardly saw any balls in the attack, though, as his mates did not feed him with any.
Due to the draw against Iran, Portugal fell off the top of the Group B and had to content themselves with the second place. This way, they will have to face Uruguay next, in the last 16.
Guerreiro and Martins resumed regular training after shrugging off some muscular problems. Carvalho is a doubt due to fatigue: he resumed partial training with the group and will have to pass a fitness test. In case he had to miss out, Manuel Fernandes would be favourite over Moutinho as his replacement.
Ricardo Quaresma, Cedric, Raphael Guerreiro, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Adrien Silva are all one yellow card away from ban.
In the attack, Guedes should prevail over André Silva as Ronaldo's partner.
This is the third time only that Portugal meet Uruguay. They beat the South American side 3-0 once, back in 1966, and drew 1-1 once in 1972. Both matches were friendly ones.
Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
---|---|---|---|
R. Patricio | |||
Cedric | |||
Pepe | |||
J. Fonte | |||
R. A. J. Guerreiro | |||
R. Quaresma | |||
Ad. Silva | |||
W. Carvalho | |||
J. Mario | |||
G. Guedes | |||
C. Ronaldo |
Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
---|---|---|---|
Beto P. | |||
A. Lopes | |||
B. Alves | |||
M. Rui | |||
R. Dias | |||
R. Pereira | |||
G. Martins | |||
B. Silva | |||
M. Fernandes | |||
J. Moutinho | |||
B. Fernandes | |||
An. Silva |