Shadow game
Defenders hound Ronaldo as Uruguay ousts Portugal
SOCHI, Russia — Edinson Cavani upstaged Cristiano Ronaldo — first with his head and then with his right foot — to send Uruguay to the World Cup quarterfinals.
Cavani had two goals as Ronaldo was held scoreless Saturday to give Uruguay a 2-1 victory over Portugal in the opening round of the knockout stage.
On the same day Lionel Messi was sent home via Argentina’s 4-3 loss to France, the rival “GOAT” at this tournament was also eliminated. Two weeks earlier, Ronaldo scored a hat trick in the same stadium during a group-stage match against Spain, stroking his chin after the first goal to imply he was the “greatest of all time.”
There was no goal from Ronaldo this time. Everywhere he went, the 33-yearold Real Madrid great was hounded by two or three Uruguayan defenders.
“We had our chances, but this is football,” Ronaldo said. “We have to keep our heads high. We gave our best. The team played well. As the team captain, I am proud of this group. Everyone worked hard to make sure things went well.”
It was Cavani, a 31-year-old striker who plays professionally for Paris Saint-Germain, who took the spotlight instead.
He combined with Luis Suarez to complete a series of precision passes and give Uruguay the early advantage with a header in the seventh minute. After Portugal equalized on Pepe’s header in the 55th minute, it was Cavani again finishing a perfect Uruguay counter in the 62nd with a shot from just inside the penalty area. It caught Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio slightly out of position and curled inside the far post.
“The truth is, it was really exciting,” Cavani said. “There aren’t words to describe this.”
Cavani now has three goals at this World Cup, though he limped off in the 70th minute with an apparent injury and had to be replaced. He was helped to the sideline with his arm around Ronaldo’s back.
“Right now we are only worried, but we don’t know how grave this injury is,” Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said.
Next up for Uruguay is a quarterfinal with 1998 World Cup champion France at 10 a.m. EDT Friday in Nizhny Novgorod. Uruguay won the tournament in 1930 and 1950 and has reached the semifinals three other times, most recently in 2010 in South Africa.
Portugal had chances in the second half, including a frantic final few minutes of stoppage time with claims of a possible handball in the penalty area from a late corner kick. But there was no late video review to benefit Portugal as Ronaldo’s fourth World Cup came to an uneventful end.
Like Messi, Ronaldo has never scored in a knockout match at the World Cup.
“I said no team can win alone. I never said Cristiano wants to play alone,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. “The team didn’t win because Uruguay scored twice. Usually we also score.”
Ronaldo had one clean shot the entire 90 minutes, and it came in the opening moments and went directly into the arms of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Ronaldo’s shadows were Uruguay’s Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez, Atletico Madrid defenders who know him quite well from their clashes in La Liga.
Ronaldo was involved somewhat in Portugal’s goal, even if he didn’t come close to getting a touch on the cross. He ran in front of Pepe and drew the attention of both Gimenez and Godin, Pepe came in behind and Uruguay finally surrendered its first goal of the tournament. It was Uruguay’s first conceded goal of the year through seven matches, ending a scoreless streak of 598 minutes that stretched back to November 2017 and a World Cup qualifier against Bolivia.
The last time Uruguay won its first four games in the World Cup was at the first one, when four wins earned it the title.
“Up until yesterday, I think people were saying, ‘Well, Uruguay won the group stage, but the group was easy,’” Tabarez said. “Well, I don’t think Portugal is easy.”
That may be true, but Uruguay’s strategy was simple in principle: stop Ronaldo.
“We have a very strong team in terms of mindset,” Tabarez said. “We prepared for this.”
It showed. On the fivepass buildup from deep in its own end that culminated in Uruguay’s first goal, the final two passes were perfect.
Cavani sent the ball across the field to Suarez, who aggressively dribbled to the top corner of the penalty area. Cavani continued his run as Suarez curled the pass to the back post while Portugal defender Raphael Guerreiro was watching.
“That was an incredible play,” Santos said. “Uruguay had never scored like that. You can’t control that situation.”