Ronaldo, Suarez put World Cup dreams on line as Portugal face Uruguay, while Argentina vows to go out with a knife between their teeth against France
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In Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, Portugal and Uruguay boast some of the greatest goal-scorers in world football, but Sochi could be the scene of a World Cup battle of attrition on Saturday evening.
These two small countries with proud footballing traditions face off on Russia’s Black Sea coast with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.
For Ronaldo it is a return to the same Fisht Stadium where he scored a hat-trick against Spain earlier in the tournament, but this time he will be up against a Uruguayan defence that was alone among the 32 teams in Russia in coming through the group stage without conceding a goal.
That, and Portugal’s recent track record of being involved in tense knockout matches that have gone to the wire, has raised the prospect of a nail-biting contest as the World Cup heads into its latter stages.
“I don’t know what kind of game it’s going to be. Will it be boring? That doesn’t cross our minds, but if it’s boring and we win…,” said Uruguay’s veteran coach Oscar Washington Tabarez on Friday, looking ever more frail at the age of 71.
Tabarez has led Uruguay for 12 years, restoring the small South American nation as a footballing power once again.
Under him they have won a Copa America and reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2010. If they can come through Saturday’s tie, they may even start to believe that they can go all the way and win a third World Cup, a first since 1950.
“We are in good shape, we have been working together for 12 years and achieving our objectives gradually, little by little,” Tabarez said.
“Considering the limitations we have as a country in footballing terms, we have come into this World Cup just as we wanted and in the three games we have played so far I think we are closer than ever to what we want to be.”
Uruguay’s formidable defence have not let in a goal at all in 2018, while Suarez has recovered from a poor first outing in Russia to score in wins over Saudi Arabia and the hosts.
His partnership with Cavani will provide a stern test to a Portuguese defence that was picked apart by Spain and given a fright by Iran in their last group game.
“You don’t need any greater motivation than to see what is in play, in the last 16 of the World Cup against the European champions. It doesn’t get any better,” said Barcelona striker Suarez, who came to Russia for possibly his last crack at the World Cup after scoring 25 times in La Liga last season.
That was just one league goal fewer than Ronaldo. At 33 he is enjoying the best World Cup of his career and his goal against Morocco in the group stage took his tally at international level to 85, more than any other male European player in history.
Both men missed out on the knockout phase in Brazil four years ago, with Suarez banned after biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini earlier on while Portugal were knocked out in the first round.
The Atletico Madrid pair of Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez will be charged with keeping Ronaldo quiet, and Portugal coach Fernando Santos warned his side not to expect their captain to win the tie on his own for the European champions.
“We have to play as a team. If Ronaldo plays alone we will lose,” said Santos, whose team have gone 17 games without losing — not including penalty shoot-outs — at an international tournament.
“It is true, though, that when both teams cancel each other out, that is where the individuals come to the fore.
“I hope my team can be as strong as Uruguay, and that Cristiano can then make the difference.”
(AFP)
Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli said that they are ready to go out and battle against France but they will look to control the ball and not get into a physical battle.
Sampaoli’s side scraped through to the last 16 after they beat Nigeria in the group stage and face a difficult task against France, even if they haven’t yet hit form themselves.
“We need to take the reins ourselves, put out players that will allow us to control the play especially against a a side like France, who move the ball around quickly,” he told a press conference.
“If we do not control the play then it will be a physical game which would not suit us. If France counter-attack it will not be good for us. Argentina will play with the knife between our teeth and hopefully we will come out on top.”
He believes that Lionel Messi can make the difference in the game.
“He is a leader with the relationship that he has with his teammates,” Sampaoli continued.
“He has a special ability to see the game that is only possible for a genius and a lot of the time it is difficult to be at the level of a genius like him. We need to know how to play with him and be able to work with him on the pitch, some of them can do it quickly and others not.
“We have a lot of love for the shirt and for Leo, through a lot of incidents that have happened and this makes us very strong. It is a team that doesn’t accept defeat very easily.”
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