Uruguay have yet to concede a goal at this World Cup and it's a record that could be set to continue against a Portugal side who hasn't created a great deal from open play, despite the fact they’ve already scored five times. Take some of the 8/5 available on La Celeste to keep a clean sheet.
Stop Cristiano Ronaldo and you're 50 per cent of the way towards stopping the Euro 2016 winners - that's the message from former striker Diego Forlan in the build-up. Many would argue Ronaldo’s influence stretches even further than that - he’s responsible for 80 per cent of that Portuguese quota - and he was certainly been at the peak of his powers in Sochi a fortnight ago.
Now the Real Madrid star returns to the scene of his sensational hat-trick in the Group B opener against Spain, except this time around he’ll be up against a couple of Atletico Madrid defenders rather than the no-love-lost Clasico combo of Bernabeu colleague Sergio Ramos and Nou Camp rival Gerard Pique.
Ronaldo will certainly hoping the surroundings inspire him because his input has been on the wane since heading the only goal against Morocco after just four minutes. Over the last three hours, he’s managed nine shots on goal, only two of them on target, and one of those was a missed penalty that should have killed the game against Iran.
Instead, the Selecao were subjected to a torrid finale in a 1-1 draw with Carlos Queiroz’s men, conceding from a disputed late penalty that handed the coveted top spot to Spain before surviving a genuine scare in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Mehdi Taremi had a decent chance to win it, a goal that would have dumped Portugal out altogether.
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| User |
Total tips |
Profit | 1 | Yield | Expected prize |
malasmaman
|
28
|
2493234 | 2 |
+87.48%
|
500 EUR |
Bicha
|
27
|
2452764 | 3 |
+92.51%
|
250 EUR |
|
Krigstrom
|
33
|
2269661 | 4 |
+61.65%
|
125 EUR |
|
Bergseth494
|
52
|
973356 | 5 |
+20.00%
|
75 EUR |
Galaktikos
|
64
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904411 | 6 |
+28.15%
|
50 EUR |
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By that stage, Ronaldo had already survived what seemed to be a certain red card for a flailing arm on Morteza Pouraliganji that was sent to VAR review and while it’s difficult to predict what effect, if any, all this drama in Saransk will have on the Portuguese mindset coming into this game, anyone would much rather Uruguay’s sedate progression by comparison.
Oscar Tabarez’s men hadn’t pleased to many pundits with their first two performances against Egypt and Saudi Arabia, both of which resulted in sketchy 1-0 wins. But it’s known among South American reporters to be a feature of the Uruguayan mentality not to overstretch yourself in the early rounds of tournament football.
However, the shackles were off to a much greater degree for the 3-0 stroll over Russia, giving us a glimpse of a team that might be primed to go deep into knockout rounds as Tabarez trialled a new 4-3-1-2 system with Rodrigo Bentancur occupying the No.10 role in behind strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.
And despite their unblemished defensive record, there was also a better balance to the back four with Diego Laxalt slotting in at left back, while Martin Caceres switched across to his more natural right back role, potentially curing a problem that had seen all six shots from inside the box in the first two matches conceded through the space between the Lazio man and Diego Godin.
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Uruguay to keep a clean sheet at 8/5
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