(Football news) Portugal won a close contest against Ghana 3-2 in the opening match. Uruguay on the other hand played out a goalless draw against South Korea where neither team had a single shot on target. A win will be enough for Portugal to secure qualification while a draw would put them in a good position.

Uruguay realistically needs a win to stay in the contest, a draw would make things very complicated for them while a loss could eliminate them. Uruguay defeated Portugal in the 2018 World Cup Round of 16 but these are different teams.

Fernando Santos benched Pepe in the last game and Portugal conceded 2 goals. The 39 year old might start this game with Danilo Pereira moving back in midfield. Other than that the personnel is likely to remain the same but with a different tactic.

The main job of Portugal would be to stop Fede Valverde from running the show. Uruguay will be heavily relying on the Real Madrid midfielder who is unstoppable on his day. He had a decent match against South Korea but it wasn’t his best but that is likely due to the tactics which don’t necessarily suit his game.

It will be interesting to see if Diego Alonso starts Edinson Cavani who came on as a substitute in the last game.The other game between South Korea and Ghana will be played before this game, which might give a clearer idea about what both teams need. From Portugal’s point of view it is important that they go for the win and secure qualification. That will allow them to rest their key players and also give others a chance in the 3rd match against South Korea.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in five different World Cups in the last match and he will be looking to score a couple more to take his country to the knockouts once again. Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes will also have a very important role to play as they will have create chances for their talisman.

Also read: 2022 World Cup: Morocco stun Belgium to move closer to qualification