Match Today: Portugal vs Uruguay 28-11-2022 Qatar World Cup 2022

Portugal will meet Uruguay at the iconic Lusail Stadium, in one of the decisive matches of the World Cup group stages.

The Portuguese may have pulled off a huge 3-2 win over Ghana in an exciting match for the objective viewer, but it was far from a perfect performance. On the bright side, a win against Uruguay would secure their passage to the Round of 16. Uruguay met their fate earlier in the day, failing to break a staunchly defensive block from South Korea in an eventual goalless draw.

They now need to claim a draw here at least, as defeat by Lucille would leave them in a very precarious position going into the third and final day of group matches. In one of the tournament's matches so far, Portugal snatched an exhausting albeit important 3-2 win over Ghana.

After a quiet first half, the Portuguese opened the scoring, thanks to a historic penalty kick by Cristiano Ronaldo (the only player to score in five World Cups), but their response to that was disappointing, as he conceded a quick equalizer. The way they handled the game after extending their lead to 3-1 should also raise some red flags, with Portugal feeling complacent in defense and almost conceding the equalizer on the last kick of the game.

While on the upside, the Portuguese have now won five of their last seven matches, scoring seventeen times in the process and keeping four clean sheets. As far as Uruguay was concerned, they were unable to make a breakthrough against a defensively tough South Korean defense. The marriage of the old keeper with emerging talent appears to be easier said than done, while questions could also be raised from inexperienced manager Diego Alonso, who has made just ten appearances for his new side.

On the plus side, the Uruguayan side managed to bounce back in the second half, twice hitting the post and could have emerged as winners with a bit more luck and focus on the finishing touch. They have also scored in seven of their last 10 matches, during their famous elimination of Portugal in the Round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup, in a match that should serve as a blueprint for this one. On the plus side, the Uruguayan side managed to bounce back in the second half, twice hitting the post and could have emerged as winners with a bit more luck and focus on the finishing touch.

They have also scored in seven of their last 10 matches, during their famous elimination of Portugal in the Round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup, in a match that should serve as a blueprint for this one. On the plus side, the Uruguayan side managed to bounce back in the second half, twice hitting the post and could have emerged as winners with a bit more luck and focus on the finishing touch.

They have also scored in seven of their last 10 matches, during their famous elimination of Portugal in the Round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup, in a match that should serve as a blueprint for this one.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo wrote his name in golden letters in World Cup history on Thursday, becoming the only player to score in five World Cup tournaments.

While his finishing let him down in other instances, Fernando Santos should rejoice in the fine performances of Joao Felix and Rafael Leao in this match, showing they can step up when their star player isn't on his day. The headlines around the Uruguay camp revolved around the poor performance of tough guy Luis Suarez, who looked harmless at the edge of the box and had to be substituted. Darwin Núñez also showed some of the problems of his early tenure at Liverpool, hitting the right positions yet rushing many of his shots.

On a bright note, Fede Valverde included all the passion the Uruguay had in the game, while hitting a beautiful late shot that hit the crossbar.

Uruguay have lost just one of their last ten matches Uruguay have won four of their last six World Cup matches Uruguay have kept seven clean sheets of their last eight matches Portugal have won only one of their last seven matches against a top 20 FIFA ranked team Portugal have failed to win Winning three of their last five away matches