Portugal faces Uruguay with the round of 16 of the World Cup in sight
The Portuguese football team faces Uruguay this Monday, in the second round of Group H of the 2022 World Cup, and a victory will already guarantee the ‘quinas’ team the qualification for the round of 16 of the competition.
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After the triumph over Ghana (3-2), Portugal will face the one who, from the outset, will be the main rival in the fight for the first position of the group, in a meeting scheduled for 22:00 local time (19:00 in Lisbon), in Lusail, and which ends the second round of the group stage.
The national team is in the lead, with three points, ahead of South Korea, Paulo Bento, and Uruguay, both with one, while Ghana, who plays with the South Koreans, is last, without any point.
A triumph over the South Americans, ‘executioners’ in the previous edition of the World Cup, will guarantee, from the outset, the Portuguese presence in the next phase and, eventually, even the first position of the ‘poule’, if the Asians and the Africans draw in the other match.
With Danilo injured, who will be unlikely to play again in this group stage, and Otávio in doubt, Fernando Santos will have to change at least two ‘pieces’ of the ‘eleven’ he started against Ghana, and the coach has already confirmed that Pepe will occupy the position of the Paris Saint-Germain player in the defensive axis.
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In this way, it is likely that Portugal will line up with the following ‘eleven’: Diogo Costa, João Cancelo, Rúben Dias, Pepe, Raphaël Guerreiro, Rúben Neves (or Palhinha), William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, João Félix and Cristiano Ronaldo .
The match will be held at the Lusail Stadium, the largest among the eight at the 2022 World Cup, with capacity for 88,000 spectators, and will be refereed by the Iranian Alireza Faghani.
Earlier, starting at 4 pm local time, South Korea and Ghana will play at the Education City Stadium, in Doha, after the South Koreans were drawn 0-0 with Uruguay in the first round and the Ghanaians were defeated by Portugal.
Also today, the Group G games continue, with the five-time champion Brazil playing against Switzerland (19:00 local time), two teams that won in the first round and are tied, with three points, ahead of Cameroon and Serbia, still without points and have a duel scheduled for 13:00 local time.
Brazilians or Swiss can guarantee qualification for the ‘eighth’ in case of triumph, combined with a tie between Cameroonians and services.