Uruguay beat Portugal to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal suffered a big heartbreak as the European champions crashed out of the round-of-16 to Uruguay. The Uruguayan defensive line was too strong to breach for Ronaldo and his men, as Oscar Tabarez’s side negated every chance of scoring the goal through the run-of-play.
Portugal scored the only goal through a set-piece, while Edinson Cavani’s brace, one each across the two halves, ensured a place in the quarterfinal for Uruguay.
With this loss, both Portugal and Argentina have crashed out of the World Cup. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, thus, are yet to score in a knock-out match in the tournament’s history.
Uruguay’s defence completely neutralised threats from Cristiano Ronaldo, and an injury time yellow card for dissent for the Portuguese captain summed up the team’s night in Sochi. However, Ronaldo was happy with Portugal’s performance, and congratulated Uruguay for their win in his post-match interview.
“We must congratulate Uruguay because they are are in the quarter-finals,” Ronaldo said.
“I think we played a good game and maybe we deserved more, but in football the ones that score the most goals win and they scored two, so congratulations.
“We leave with our heads held high. As the captain of Portugal I know how hard we have worked and we must be proud of the team.
“And I also want to congratulate the organisation of this World Cup, it has been fantastic in every way; the organisation, the security, the atmosphere is perfect and it must be said.
“We go with our heads held high and we are sure that this team will continue to win things,” said the Portuguese captain.
Ronaldo was also asked about his future with the national team. However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner remained tight-lipped about the question, saying that it isn’t the right time to speak about the issue.
“It’s not the time to talk about the future. This team will continue to be one of the best in the world, with quality players, a young group, united. I am confident and happy because this team will always fight with all their strength,” said Ronaldo.
