Portugal are now out of the World Cup from the round of 16 stage of the competition. On the same day, Lionel Messi’s Argentina are also out of the contention for this World Cup. It was really heartbreaking for both sets of fans but at the end of the day football has won the heart of all. The match between Portugal and Uruguay has ended with a scoreline of 2-1 where Edinson Cavani’s double were enough for Uruguay to ease past the challenge of the Portuguese side in the round of 16 clash in the World Cup. Here we will discuss about the reasons behind the exit of the Portuguese side from the knockout stage of the tournament :
1. No Ronaldo No Win :
This Portuguese side is completely dependent on the display of Cristiano Ronaldo. The day when Cristiano Ronaldo plays well, Portugal have won the match. We have already got the evidences in Portugal’s group stage matches against Morocco and Spain. In both the matches, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored and Portugal looked was better as a team. But this was not the day if Cristiano Ronaldo but his teammates were not able to compensate that.
2. Ricardo Quaresma Not In The Starting Eleven :
Ricardo Quaresma had played really well in the last group stage match of the Portuguese side against Iran and scored the single goal for Portugal with a brilliant shot in that match. He was one of the key players for Portugal in the Euro 2016 where Portugal had won the trophy. Suddenly, he was not in the starting line up against Uruguay in the round of 16 clash. So, Portugal were surely missing the attacking flair of Ricardo Quaresma in the field for the first hour of the game.
3. The Combination Of Cavani And Suarez Too Much Heavy For Portugal :
The combination of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez was really a thing to watch out for the football fans all over the World. The Portuguese defense had no clue to stop them. Two brilliant goals scored by Edinson Cavani had knocked Portugal out of the equation of the World Cup. The understanding between two World class strikers of Uruguay was just phenomenal.
4. The Rock Solid Defence Of Uruguay:
The defensive unit of Uruguay have played their part brilliantly in the round of 16 clash against Portugal. The attackers of Portugal had tried hard to get back on level terms with Uruguay in the first half desperately; but it was really hard to crack the defense of Uruguay in this match. Diego Godin and Gimenez were in their best form. The defense has committed one single mistake to not cover Pepe in the time of a corner kick and Pepe has utilized the chance perfectly. Otherwise, the defense was rock solid in the perspective of Uruguay. Laxalt and Caceres were also brilliant in both the flanks. They were able to dispossess Bernardo Silva and Joao Mario in this match which was really needed to cut the supply of ball to Cristiano Ronaldo. So, altogether Uruguay were the better team in the field and they deserved the win.
