Portugal did half of their work in the group stage of the World Cup in the first round by defeating Ghana (3-2). The rest, at least when it comes to the round of 16, can be done this Monday, after the clash with Uruguay at Lusail Stadium in the 2nd round of Group H.A victory guarantees the Portuguese a place among the 16 best selections in the world, which is the primary goal. It is too early to be precise about taking the first position and avoiding the winner of Group G (most likely Brazil). With the fact that a triumph would certainly be a huge step towards that.Attack of Uruguay vs Defense of Portugal ! 😍Tonight ; 🇵🇹 vs 🇺🇾 pic.twitter.com/y18bODy50i— Troll Football (@Troll_Fotballl) November 28, 2022 However, the Navigators were struck by bad luck ahead of the match with Uruguay. The all-rounder Danilo Pereira, who played the entire game with Ghana in the last line, suffered an injury that will most likely keep him from playing until the end of the tournament.PSG player suffered a rib fracture during training, and the strangest thing is that no one knows how. At least that’s what Portugal coach Fernando Santos claims.”It’s the type of injury that no one can explain. We don’t understand what exactly happened. The injury itself is normal, we just don’t know how it happened. At first, no one even thought it was something serious. Danilo had several examinations to see if he could breathe properly and everything seemed fine, but later it turned out that the matter was much more complicated. We will follow what happens, I’m not a doctor so I can’t talk about the details. We hope to have him back in the team soon, but if not, we have three more players who can replace him. There’s no need to cry and there’s no need to make any drama out of it. We are sorry for him, Danilo is someone who radiates positive energy and I am sure that he will continue to send it to us,” said Santos.Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal teammates in today’s training ahead of tomorrow’s game against Uruguay ❤️💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/TSUlWQLSlH— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) November 27, 2022 Apart from Pereira, all other players are available to the coach of Portugal. This does not apply to his colleague on the bench of the Uruguayan selection, Diego Alonso, since he cannot count on Ronald Araújo. The Barcelona player underwent surgery back in September, since then he has not played, and although he is with the national team, he is still not ready for competitive matches.The tradition before tonight’s match certainly does not suit Portugal. They have defeated a team from South America only once in the last nine meetings in all competitions. They have three more draws and five defeats. Portugal achieved that sole victory against Argentina, in a friendly match back in 2014.##EDITORS_CHOICE##However, it is also a fact that the Portuguese lost only one of the last 13 games in the group stage of the World Cup. They had seven wins and five draws.Uruguay and Portugal met only once at the World Cup, four years ago in Russia. Then, with Edinson Cavani’s goals in the 7th and 62nd minutes, Uruguay triumphed 2-1 and qualified among the top eight teams. The Europeans can now take their revenge.QATAR 2022 WORLD CUPGROUP HMondayS.Korea – Ghana 2-3 (0-2)/Cho 58, 61 – Salisu 24, Kudus 34, 68/22:00: (2.15) Portugal (3.25) Uruguay (3.90)***odds are subject to change***
