Portugal and Uruguay are set to meet for a second World Cup in a row with the 2016 European champions heading into the clash with revenge on their minds.
Cristiano Ronaldo made history against Ghana by becoming the first man to score at five different World Cups. Can he find the net again Monday? Bookmaker William Hill has the odds at 2.60 for him to find another goal. The odds are at 9.50 for Ronaldo to score at least twice and at 41.00 for him to grab a hat trick.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 27th, 4:30 P.M. (EST)
These two were paired together in the Round of 16 in Russia and Uruguay triumphed 2-1. Edison Cavani bagged both Uruguay goals and netted the winner in the 62nd minute after Pepe had tied things up.
In total, the teams have met three times and both have registered one win. Getting a second one on Monday would be huge for both sides, although this could also easily end up being a bore draw due to Uruguay’s superb defensive quality.
Ronaldo and his crew will come up against a team that hasn’t conceded a single goal in 465 minutes of group-stage action at the World Cup. They started a run of five consecutive clean sheets after Wayne Rooney scored against Uruguay in the 2014 World Cup.
Uruguay extended their streak against South Korea in impressive fashion Thursday as the opposition didn’t register any shots on target in the 0-0 draw. The Uruguayans themselves couldn’t hit the target either, but two of their efforts raddled the woodwork and they should remain confident of their ability to have a good World Cup. As we all know, defense wins you championships and Uruguay could go quite far with their rock-solid backline.
Portugal will have some good learning material on display in the match-up. They kicked off the tournament with a decent performance against Ghana but Fernando Santos definitely won’t be pleased about his team’s defending in Thursday’s 3-2 win. Portugal will also need to work on their game management after they almost blew a two-goal lead against the Black Stars.
Santos has a great group of players at his disposal and really should be winning games more comfortably with the team. Getting some early scoring could end up being crucial on Monday as Uruguay’s chances of success are set to improve with each passing minute.
