World Cup 2018: 3 things we learnt from Portugal's group games

Portugal survived an almighty scare in the last group game against Iran but eventually progressed through to the last 16 by the skin of their teeth.

Better days awaited the side after the sensational 3-3 draw against Spain in the opener with Cristiano Ronaldo too hitting the throttle. But by the end of the third group game, there were plenty of issues and cause of concern for Fernando Santos ahead of the mouth-watering clash against Uruguay.

Despite what appeared to be a fairly straightforward group, it was anything but for Portugal. Here's what we learnt from their three group games:

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#3 Portugal have serious fullback problems

Guerreiro has become a pain point for Portugal in the left-back position

When the 23-man squad was announced, many predicted Portugal to have defensive concerns given the ageing personnel. But while the centre-back pairing of Pepe and Jose Fonte, who have a combined age of 69, have proved to be alright, real concerns have emerged in the fullback positions.

Cedric Soares has blown hot and cold so far. He was the best performer against Morocco, but in games against Spain and Iran, the Southampton star displayed a poor reflection of himself.

He was completely out of position in the build-up to Spain's second goal and conceded the late penalty against Iran, though it was down to an incorrect decision. But Rafael Guerreiro has proved to be the weakest link at the back.

Guerreiro's influence plummeted drastically after the first match and was well off the pace in the Morocco game. Most of their attacks stemmed down the left flank and the Borussia Dortmund fullback was belted black and blue by Nordin Amrabat.

When Portugal struggled to break down a gritty Iranian defence, he didn't help out appropriately in the attack and also failed to link up with Adrien Silva up front.

Uruguay would definitely try and poke this side of Portugal's system to launch attacks and maybe it's time to bring on Marco Rui in his place to shore up the defence.

#2 Portugal's striker dilemma

Silva struck 9 times in the qualifiers but was a poor imitation of it against Iran

Cristiano Ronaldo has been paired up with both Goncalo Guedes and Andre Silva up front, but neither has truly impressed thus far.

In first two games, Guedes offered little to no threat going forward. He did claim the assist for Ronaldo's second against Spain but was at fault for missing a glorious chance after being through on goal when he shot straight at De Gea.

He was replaced by Silva in the final match against Iran, but the switch proved futile as the Milan starlet too, underwhelmed and was effortlessly dealt with by a stoic Iran defence.

In three games, Guedes and Silva were dispossessed for a total of 5 times combined and accounted for a single shot on target out of the 9 that Portugal registered in the 3 group games.

With Ronaldo also struggling recently, the youngsters were needed to step up and provide the Selecao with another viable goalscoring outlet. But much to their dismay, that hasn't been the case so far.

#1 The Ronaldo sensation is indeed fading

Ronaldo was well below his best against Iran

Cristiano Ronaldo made the best start to an international tournament with Portugal when he struck an incredible hat-trick against Spain in the opening game. Pundits (and even the fans) were quick to jump the gun and presaged the Real Madrid ace to take Russia by storm.

But now between the end of group games and the start of the knockouts, one can vehemently say he's fading, and it isn't a good sign given the all-important Uruguay clash is barely 3 days away.

After heading Portugal in front against Morocco, Ronaldo slumped into the abyss of anonymity. He saw two of his efforts blocked while missed a good chance to double his tally when he blazed a loose ball into row Z with half of the goal gaping ahead of him.

Ronaldo's frustrations then threatened to boil over after watching his penalty denied by Iran's Beiranvand and narrowly escaped a red after he appeared to elbow Pauraliganji.

He was kept at arm's length by the stout Iran defence that starved him of any service and struck an effort early on straight at the goalkeeper after beating the offside trap.

Admittedly, Ronaldo is losing the momentum he built with that treble. To make it worse for him, he's also been surpassed in the Golden Boot race. And now against Uruguay, Portugal are the underdogs and touted to exit the World Cup. Ronaldo needs to get his shooting boots on to upset the odds.