The Portuguese soccer team faces Uruguay this Monday, in the second day of Group H of the 2022 World Cup in Russia, and a victory will already guarantee the ‘quinas’ qualification for the round of 16 of the competition.
After the victory over Ghana (3-2), Portugal will face what, from the outset, will be the main rival in the fight for first place in the group, in a match scheduled for 10:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. in Lisbon), in Lusail, and which ends the second round of the group stage.
The 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 points.
A victory over the South Americans, ‘executioners’ in the previous edition of the World Cup, will guarantee, from the outset, the Portuguese presence in the next stage and, eventually, even the first position of the ‘poule’, if the Asians and the Africans tie in the other party.
With Danilo injured, who will hardly play again in this group stage, and Otávio in doubt, Fernando Santos will have to change at least two ‘pieces’ of the ‘eleven’ that started against Ghana, and the coach has already confirmed this. Pepe will occupy the position of the Paris Saint-Germain player in the defensive axis.
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 played at the Lusail Stadium, the largest of the eight in the 2022 World Cup, with a capacity for 88,000 spectators, and will be refereed by the Iranian Alireza Faghani.
Earlier, starting at 4:00 p.m. local time, South Korea and Ghana will play at the Education City Stadium in Doha after the South Koreans drew 0-0 with Uruguay in the first round and the Ghanaians were defeated by Portugal .
Also today, the Group G matches continue, with the five-time champion Brazil playing against Switzerland (7:00 p.m. 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 has a duel scheduled for 1:00 p.m. local time.
Brazilians or Swiss can ensure qualification for the ‘eighth’ in case of victory, combined with a tie between Cameroonians and Serbs.
Source: TSF
