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Sochi, Russia (AP) Uruguay has already plunged into the World Cup, even with some of the same players, but after four wins in a row, it is clear that the group qu & # 39; Oscar Tabarez brought to Russia is even more important.
Perhaps even enough to allow France to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Uruguay won its match against the star-studded French by ousting Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal 2-1 in the round of 16, the first real test of the tournament. Uruguay, after La Celeste went through the group stage by sending Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Russia without scoring a goal.
By defeating the reigning European champions, Uruguay has strengthened its team further than Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayans are an elite defensive group, with a midfielder who has dominated Portugal and has never allowed Ronaldo to take over as he has done so many times before.
"The entire team is sacrificed to win". What stood out Saturday against Portugal was the comfort of Uruguay without the ball. Portugal owned 61% of the possession, but its only goal came out of a play. During the game, Portugal rarely had a clear look at the goal. The possession advantage of Portugal was meaningless because it could not break down the Uruguayan defense.
Uruguay had eight shot attempts blocked after only five in the first three games combined. There was a commitment to play defense beyond the back line led by captain Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez. The midfielder quartet of Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Torreira, Diego Laxalt and Matias Vecino has constantly worked to help. And when Uruguay had the opportunity to counter, he was deadly with the combo of Suarez and Cavani.
"There is very often this mistaken assumption that the possession of the ball leads to scoring opportunities, but that is not the case, I learned this in Italy when I was there. were working, "said Tabarez, who coached Cagliari and briefly AC Milan in the 1990s.
" Even if you do not have a lot of ball possession, "he added," you can still inflict pain on the adversary in different ways. "
The lingering question all week for Uruguay will be Cavani's health after scoring two goals but limped in the 70th minute with a injury to the leg. Cavani said that he felt a pain and could not continue, but that he hoped that he could recover in time to be on the ground against France.
Cavani has three goals in this tournament and 28 goals this season for Paris Saint-Germain in league play, with another seven in the Champions League matches. His twinning with Suarez at the top of Uruguay's attack is essential to relieve the pressure and counter with how much Uruguay is willing to play defense.
"At this stage of the tournament, I think you need a perfect game to advance," Suarez said after the South Americans defeated Portugal. "I think that what we did best today was to help the team.Of course, I am very happy for the goals of (Cavani) and that they helped us I think the whole group has worked well. "
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More coverage of the AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/tag/WorldCup.
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