Red-hot Ronaldo to probe Godin-led Uruguay defence
SOCHI: The man who has marshalled the best defence in the World Cup so far will relish the task of trying to stop Cristiano Ronaldo & Co when Uruguay and Portugal meet on Saturday.
The Madrid derby comes to the shores of the Black Sea in the last 16 with Uruguayan captain Diego Godin, of Atletico, and his teammate Jose Maria Gimenez set to face Real and Portugal’s five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
It will be a fascinating battle at the Fisht Stadium with Ronaldo, at 33, enjoying his best World Cup while Uruguay are the only side to come through the group stage without conceding a goal.
Godin is an expert at keeping clean sheets, as the leader of an Atletico defence that is the most formidable in the European club game — they kept 34 in all competitions last season — and of a Uruguay side that has not conceded a goal in 2018 in six games.
Ronaldo, though, has already scored four times in this World Cup, including a hat-trick on his last visit here when Portugal drew 3-3 with Spain.
In the last two years, he has scored two hat-tricks for Real Madrid against Godin’s Atletico, having also emerged victorious in two Madrid derby Champions League finals.
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But the rugged and brave Godin, who needed reconstructive dental surgery after having three teeth punched out in an aerial challenge with Valencia’s goalkeeper earlier this year, has succeeded in muzzling Ronaldo on plenty other occasions at club level going back almost a decade.
“Godín is a star. He defends, commands, scores goals, wins titles, and does not miss a game,” said Diego Maradona recently.
On Saturday, Gimenez — who
scored Uruguay’s late winner against Egypt — is set to rejoin Godin in central defence after missing the 3-0 victory over Russia due to injury.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, will look to get back among the goals having had a penalty saved in Portugal’s 1-1 draw with Iran. That, and the VAR-awarded late spot-kick for the Iranians, condemned the defending European champions to this tie rather than a meeting with the hosts in Moscow.