Uruguay take on Portugal in the second Round of 16 fixture at Fisht Stadium today. The game will see two defensive teams lock horns for a place in the quarter finals. Uruguay dominated their group and won 3-0 over hosts Russia to finish as group topper whilst European Champions Portugal finished 2nd to Spain in their group. The game will also see some of best forwards in world football, Edinson Cavani and Luiz Suarez taking on Cristiano Ronaldo.
Uruguay are managed by 71-year-old Óscar Tabárez who has been incharge for the last 12 years and pretty much shaped up Uruguayan football over the years. He is known for having a well-drilled back line led by Atletico Madrid duo of Diego Godín and José Giménez which will be difficult for teams to pass through as we had seen in the group stages were they didn’t concede a single goal. There defense is matched with a strong strike force of Luiz Suarez and Edinson Cavani two of best strikers in world football.
Portugal on the other hand led by another veteran Fernando Santos who is nicknamed the conductor also loves to have a strong defensive structure. His style of play isn’t really appreciated but he has got some great results. The team has been dependent on Cristiano Ronaldo to score this world cup, te forward has scored 4 of Portugal’s 5 goals in this world cup.
The game between the two veteran coaches is expected to be an affair in which we are expected to see very few goals and the team which is expected to be more patient throughout the game is expected to walk out as winners.
Key Players
Uruguay – Suarez,Cavani,Godin
Portugal – Ronaldo, Pepe, William Carvalho
Predicted Line-ups and Score-line
Uruguay ( 4-4-2 ) – Mulsera ; Varela – Godin – Giménez – Caceres ; Nández – Lucas Torreira – Bentancur – Vecino ; Cavani – Suarez
Portugal ( 4-4-2) – Patricio; Cedric – Pepe – Fonte – Guerreiro ; Quaresma – Willian – Moutinho – Bernado Silvo; Ronaldo – Silva
