Qatar World Cup: Portugal beat Uruguay to secure place in final 16

Portugal 2-0 Uruguay

• Portugal’s win means they qualify for the last-16 stage with a game to spare, following their opening 3-2 win over Ghana.

• A goal from Bruno Fernandes in the 54th minute, and a penalty from him in the third minute of stoppage time sealed the win for the European side. 

• Uruguay, who drew their Group H opener 0-0 against South Korea, previously beat Portugal in the last 16 in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

• Like Portugal, the Uruguay squad blended the old and the new. Up front, 35-year-old Luis Suarez was joined by a new generation of talent in Darwin Nunez and Facundo Pellistri.

Brazil 1-0 Switzerland 

• Brazil overcame the absence of Neymar to beat Switzerland 1-0 and advance to the round of the 16 of the World Cup on Monday.

• Casemiro scored in the 83rd minute with a shot from inside the area to put Brazil in the last 16 with a match to spare in Group G.

• Brazil striker Neymar stayed at the team’s hotel treating a right ankle injury sustained in the opener in Qatar. Team doctors have not yet given a timetable on his return — or said if he will return at all.

• The win gave Brazil six points from two matches, leaving Switzerland with three. Serbia and Cameroon, which drew 3-3 earlier Monday, have point each.

• Switzerland needs a win in the last match against Serbia to guarantee its spot in the next stage. A draw may be enough depending on the match between Brazil and Cameroon.

• Switzerland’s coach Murat Yakin recently described his squad as “the best Switzerland national team that has ever existed”.

Ghana 3-2 South Korea

• The match swings back in the favour of Ghana after South Korea mounted a quick comeback.

• Ghana had lead South Korea 2-0 at half time.

• First-half goals from Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu and Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus put the Black Stars ahead.

• But South Korea hit two quickfire second-half goals to draw level at 2-2. Cho Gue-sung scored twice in a matter of minutes around the hour mark.

• No sooner had they drawn level, than Ghana pulled away once more, Kudus netting in the 68th minute.

Cameroon 3-3 Serbia

• Vincent Aboubakar scores a brilliant lob to help Cameroon draw a thrilling game with Serbia 3-3.

• Cameroon had taken the lead through Castelletto in the 29th minute.

• But Serbia stormed back, scoring three goals in 10 minutes on either side of half-time.

• Aleksandar Mitrović tapped in to finish off an impressive team goal and put Serbia 3-1 up in the 53rd minute.

• Next, it was Cameroon’s turn to launch a comeback.

• Aboubakar’s lob made it 2-3 

• Then Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting levelled the scores.

• The result leaves both sides with an uphill task to qualify.

• Brazil or Switzerland can qualify for the last 16 by winning in their match later on Monday.

What happened at the World Cup on Sunday?

• A goal from Costa Rica’s Keysher Fuller was enough to secure a 1-0 victory for the Central American side against Japan, who had gone into the match buoyed by their triumph against Germany.
• Then came a major upset as Morocco pulled off yet another World Cup shock, stunning the world’s second-ranked team Belgium in a 2-0 victory.
• Croatia recovered from an early goal conceded against Canada, Andrej Kramaric scoring twice as the European side ran out comfortable 4-1 winners.
• Germany recovered from a goal down in their make-or-break match with Spain, Niclas Füllkrug’s late strike cancelling out Alvaro Morata’s opener to earn a 1-1 draw that keeps the 2014 champions in the tournament.

What are the key World Cup talking points so far?

Some high profile teams have been humbled… Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1, while Japan beat Germany by the same score. Then came Morocco’s 2-0 humbling of Belgium.

While others have shone… Spain’s youngsters have caught the eye after their demolition of Costa Rica, while France are once again seen as among the top favourites after becoming the first side to qualify for the knockout stage following two straight victories. 

Pre-match protests: Iranian players declined to sing their national anthem in the first game, a sign of support for the victims of the harshly repressed protests in their country. But they were back to singing in the second game after a well-known player who didn’t make the squad was arrested in Tehran, sending a clear signal to the players in Doha.

Meanwhile, German players held their hands over their mouths before kick-off of their first game, in what was seen as a silent protest against FIFA’s ban on team captains wearing anti-discrimination “One Love” armbands.

Off-pitch controversies: Seven European teams had planned for their captains to wear the armbands in a gesture of support for diversity and inclusion in a nation where homosexuality — as it is in dozens of countries — is illegal. But they backed down after FIFA said yellow cards would be issued to players who did so. Complaints have been lodged against the ban.

There was further fuss when two days before the tournament, FIFA announced that alcohol would no longer be sold to fans at stadiums.

The period in the run-up to the World Cup brought renewed scrutiny of both FIFA — plagued by corruption allegations in the era when Sepp Blatter was in charge — and Qatar over human rights. The country contests claims by campaign groups that thousands of migrant workers died after being hired to build stadiums and infrastructure.

Qatar also denies impropriety over its World Cup bid, while its defenders argue that the country has made significant progress over migrants’ rights.