Uruguay 2-1 Portugal: Highlights and recap

Uruguay beat Portugal 2-1 at the World Cup on Saturday, June 30. Here are all the highlights from the match.

Uruguay beat Portugal 2-1 on Saturday, June 30, thanks to a goal in each half from Edinson Cavani. The win sees Oscar Tabarez’s side advance to the quarterfinals, where they’ll meet a France side fresh off a big 4-3 win against Argentina.

Both sides are at their best at the back — Uruguay had yet to concede a goal all tournament heading into this one — and so when Cavani gave his side the lead in the seventh minute, after a wonderful exchange of long passes with Luis Suarez, it felt like Portugal had a big task to get back into it.

The remainder of the first half confirmed that feeling, as they struggled to break down Uruguay’s excellent defense, led by Diego Godin. Too often, they settled for hopeful crosses in the direction of Cristiano Ronaldo that were easily cut out.

After some halftime adjustments, however, the European side began to improve, with Bernardo Silva, mostly uninvolved out wide in the first half, playing an increasingly prominent role and beginning to create chances.

Portugal’s strong start to the half paid dividends in the 55th minute, Pepe heading in unmarked from a corner, a poor lapse in concentration from a Uruguay side usually so dominant defending ball into the box.

They made amends for the error shortly after the hour mark, with Cavani once again producing the goods. After a long ball up the pitch, the ball was laid off at the top of the penalty area to Cavani, who curled into the far corner with a wonderful first-time shot.

Next: The best player on every team at the World Cup

Highlights

https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1013141347199401984

Uruguay will play France in the quarterfinals.