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Portugal bowed out of the World Cup with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Uruguay. The European champions were outclassed in all departments by Oscar Tabarez's men as Cristiano Ronaldo could not inspire his side to another famous victory.
Edinson Cavani gave Uruguay the lead early in the first half. Pepe equalized for Portugal in the second half but a stinging counter-attack gave the lead back to Uruguay, again courtesy of Edinson Cavani. Ronaldo and co tried hard but it ultimately proved to be impossible to breach Uruguay's famed defence twice.
Uruguay will now face France in the quarterfinals whereas Portugal will reflect on their mistakes and the missed penalty against Iran. So without further ado, let's analyze the three reasons why Portugal could not usurp the Uruguayan challenge on the night:
#3 A bad start
Starting in a midfield diamond, Uruguay proved they were up for the task from the word go. They pressed as a unit, starting from Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani up front. Their strategy was clear, let Portugal have the ball and try to hit them on the counter which was vindicated by the fact that Portugal had 64% possession in the first half.
This strategy bore fruit as early as in the seventh minute. In one such Uruguayan attack, Cavani played a diagonal ball to Suarez who then delivered a pinpoint cross to his strike partner. Cavani ran his heart out to meet the cross and complete one of the most elegant one-two in the history of the World Cup.
The goal brought extra pressure on Portugal who were already finding it tough to break Uruguay's defence. It was just the start that Portugal had dreaded. Uruguay earned their advantage and could have doubled their lead in the first half but Rui Patricio made an expert save of a Luis Suarez freekick.
Cavani's early goal made all the psychological difference in the game as Portugal were left to climb a mountain, i.e score two goals against this mean Uruguayan defence.
#2 Portugal had no answer for the Uruguayan press
Though Edinson Cavani was the difference between the two sides, all 11 Uruguayan players deserve credit for their tireless performance. A 4-4-2 diamond led Uruguay to crowd the midfield against Portugal and helped them regain possession on numerous occasions.
Portugal used an attacking right-back, Ricardo Pereira, to help Bernardo Silva drift inside and create chances. But Silva was never given time or space when in possession to create anything meaningful despite having over 100 touches in the game.
Even when playing out from the back, the Uruguayans were brilliantly positioned which forced Portugal to go route one. The industrious Lucas Torreira in midfield was the star of Uruguay's off the ball movement.
On the other hand, Portugal never pressed as a unit which always gave Uruguay enough time to construct a counter attack. Ronaldo and his men failed to adapt to Uruguay's insane work rate which led them to down their tools on the biggest of stages.
#1 An isolated and underfiring Cristiano Ronaldo
It was obvious that if Portugal were to beat the South Americans, Fernando Santos' men needed a Cristiano Ronaldo miracle. The Real Madrid talisman had to replicate his showing against Spain to give his national side any hope of beating Uruguay.
But it wasn't meant to be as Cristiano Ronaldo cut a sorry figure throughout the game. He tried coming deep or drifting wide to get the better of the Uruguayan defence but to no avail. Ronaldo failed to get the right service when he was in the box or could not find the right connection when he tried to do it all himself.
Ronaldo did not have one touch in Uruguay's 18-yard box in the first half. He attempted six shots on the night (one on target) but none from inside the box and failed to test Fernando Muslera. The 33-year-old could not muster a stroke of genius on his own whereas his teammates let him down on other occasions.
Ronaldo has failed to score a goal in the knockout stage of the World Cup and the Uruguay game, in most likeliness, was his last chance to change that record.
