Portugal advances to last 16, beats Uruguay 2-0 at World Cup
Lusail (Qatar), Nov 29: Cristiano Ronaldo wheeled away in celebration, acting as though he had scored yet another goal at the World Cup.
Not this time.
Instead, it was Bruno Fernandes eventually credited with the goal that set up Portugal's 2-0 win over Uruguay on Monday, advancing the team into the last 16.
Fernandes curled in a cross from the left that barely went over the head of the leaping Ronaldo and bounced into the far corner of the net in the 54th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 lead.
A grinning Ronaldo threw his arms in the air, suggesting he got the final touch, and was embracing Fernandes as multiple close-up replays were being shown on the big screens in Lusail Stadium.
The goal wound up being awarded to Fernandes, who added a second from the penalty spot in stoppage time after a handball by Jose Maria Gimenez.
Fernandes was denied a hat trick with virtually the last kick of the game, his shot from outside the area hitting the post and bouncing wide.
Portugal, which opened with a 3-2 win over Ghana, became the third team to reach the last 16 after France and Brazil.
Uruguay has one point from two matches and needs to beat Ghana on Friday to stand a chance of advancing.
FIELD INVASION
The match was briefly interrupted just before the goal by a protestor carrying a rainbow flag and wearing a blue Superman T-shirt that said "SAVE UKRAINE" on the front and "RESPECT FOR IRANIAN WOMAN" on the back. Security officials chased the protestor down and the flag was dropped on the field.
PEPE'S FEAT
Portugal defender Pepe became the second oldest outfield player to feature at a World Cup, at the age of 39. The oldest is Roger Milla, who was 42 when he played for Cameroon at the 1994 tournament.
MENDES INJURED
Portugal left back Nuno Mendes dropped to the ground in the 40th minute and was soon in tears after sustaining a match-ending injury. He was able to walk off the field unassisted. Portugal's other left back is Raphael Guerreiro.
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Jasprit Bumrah set for comeback in Mumbai Indians’ IPL clash against RCB
Mumbai, Apr 6 (PTI): Ace Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah is set for a comeback here on Monday after he joined the Mumbai Indians’ camp ahead of their IPL clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Bumrah had been sidelined with a back-related issue since early January during the fifth and final Test of the Australian tour and missed key assignments such as the Champions Trophy last month.
Mumbai Indians’ head coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed on the eve of their IPL clash against RCB that Bumrah is set for a comeback.
“Yeah, he is available. He is training today, so he should be available tomorrow,” Jayawardene said.
Rohit Sharma, who had missed the last game against Lucknow Super Giants due to a blow to his knee, batted in the nets here at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday and could be fit for the RCB clash as well.
“Ro (Rohit) looks good. He is going to bat today. It was just an unfortunate impact on his leg while batting so, it was not comfortable. We were travelling yesterday. He will have a hit today and then we will do an assessment on that,” Jayawardene said.
Asked if there were no injury concerns in the MI camp, the head coach replied, “Not that I know of.”
