Uruguay take on Portugal at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi at 21:00 local time on Saturday 30th June knowing that whoever wins will take on the winner of the exciting France versus Argentina game taking place at the same time. Uruguay are looking for their second World Cup title and Portugal their first. Can the Portuguese win the World Cup to go with the European Championship title they already have in their trophy cabinet?
After winning all three of their group games without conceding a goal, you would think Uruguay would be everyone's favorites to beat Portugal and progress to the quarter-finals against either Frnce or rgentina. If you thought this, you would be thiking wrong because Bovada price Uruguay at +180 to win, Portugal +190 to win and the draw at +185.
Uruguay's group stage opponents were weak; Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Portugal will be a much tougher task and thanks to them winning the 2016 European Championships, Portugal know how to get the job done in the knockout stages of a major tournament.
Portugal are the masters at holding teams to a draw and with Cristiano Ronaldo looking to make amends for missing a penalty against Iran in their final game, they could be the team to beat in this game, which looks destined to go into extra time and penalties.
Uruguay vs Portugal Key Bites
Uruguay are brimming with confidence after winning all three of their group stage games, even if they were against low quality opposition in Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. One player in particular seems to be growing in confidence and that is Barcelona striker Luis Suarez.
Suzarez has scored twice in his previous two games and looks back to his brilliant best, which spells danger for Portugal. Suarez has now scored 53 goals in 101 appearances for Uruguay and a staggering 372 goals in 561 games in all competitions.
Uruguay are rock solid in defense having kept nine clean sheets in their previous 12 games. They will have to be at their best to keep Cristiano Ronaldo at bay.
As for weaknesses, the main Uruguay weakness is their lack of creativity in the middle of the park. For all their endeavor, Uruguay simply try to get the back to Suarez and Edinson Cavani as quickly as possible and hope they can do the rest.
Portugal gained a reputation for being masters of the draw thanks to how they won the 2016 European Championships, yet they have won 17 of their previous 28 games since Euro 2016. The Portuguese are a well-organized team who have good players throughout the spine of their side, although they are super reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo to score goals for them.
The Portuguese conceded nine goals in their last 14 games and three of those came in the draw with Spain at this World Cup. Eight clean sheets in those 14 games shows a rock solid defence led by former Real Madrid star Pepe.
Ronaldo is the obvious strength of the Portugal team, he just seems to keep getting better and better despite being 33 years old. Eighty-one goals in 149 games for Portugal is an incredible return, as is the 573 goals in 763 appearances for club and country.
The main Portuguese weakness is the lack of goal threat when Ronaldo is kept quiet. They do have some flair players yet they do not thrive as much as when Ronaldo is making things tick. Also, while Pepe is a top defender, he has a lack of pace and is prone to the occasional mistake or silly foul that puts his side in unnecessary danger.
Category : Betting Picks
Tag : FIFA World Cup , Soccer
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