Portugal, Brazil earn spots in World Cup knock out stage
![Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, right, celebrates his team's opening goal beside Portugal's Joao Felix, during the World Cup Group H football match between Portugal and Uruguay, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Monday. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/11/29/a029a3aa-dc96-4796-ac99-76ada4023261.jpg)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, right, celebrates his team's opening goal beside Portugal's Joao Felix, during the World Cup Group H football match between Portugal and Uruguay, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Monday. [AP/YONHAP]
![Bruno Fernandes of Portugal scores a penalty goal during the Group H match between Portugal and Uruguay at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Monday. [XINHUA/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/11/29/e6c28370-8447-4427-8411-cffee2933f5e.jpg)
Bruno Fernandes of Portugal scores a penalty goal during the Group H match between Portugal and Uruguay at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Monday. [XINHUA/YONHAP]
Portugal secured their seat in the 2022 World Cup knock out stage on Monday, beating Uruguay 2-0 with a double from Brunal Fernandez. Brazil also earned their spot beating Switzerland 1-0.
On Monday, Portugal took on Uruguay right after Korea’s 3-2 loss against Ghana. While Portugal possessed the ball more in the first half, they were not able to create any real chances with Uruguay playing a strong defense.
But Bruno Fernandes was the one to break the silence in the second half, making it on the scoresheet twice during the second half on Monday.
Fernandes broke through in the 54th minute shooting from outside box and into the net. While Cristiano Ronaldo's head seemed to have slightly touched the ball in front of the net, FIFA reversed its original decision to give Ronaldo the goal and gave it to Fernandes.
While getting close on some occasions, Portugal was able to keep Uruguay out with some help from woodwork as a shot from Maxi Gomez of Uruguay bounced off the post. Uruguay kept pounding at the Portugal side of the goal with substitute Luis Suarez also trying a shot but narrowly missing the net.
Just when it seemed that the momentum could shift to the Uruguay side, Portugal’s Fernandes ran into the box pushing the ball between Jose Maria Gimenez’s legs who then blocked the ball with this arms, amounting to a handball foul and a penalty awarded to Portugal.
Fernandes took the penalty himself and scored, bringing the score to 2-0 and leading his team to the knock out round.
![Brazil's Casemiro, center, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group G football match between Brazil and Switzerland, at the Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar on Monday. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/11/29/40598ad6-b4af-42b3-8346-3910467f2af6.jpg)
Brazil's Casemiro, center, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group G football match between Brazil and Switzerland, at the Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar on Monday. [AP/YONHAP]
Just before Portugal earned their knock out stage spot, Brazil also secured theirs, defeating Switzerland 1-0 despite the absence of their franchise star Neymar.
Neymar suffered an ankle injury in Brazil’s opening match with Vincius Junior later revealing that Neymar wasn’t feeling well and also had a little bit of a fever.
But even without Neymar, the five-time champions have now made it into the knockout stage with a match to spare in Group G. Not only that, but Brazil on Monday also became just the second national to not concede a single shot on target in their first two World Cup matches in a single edition after France.
After an unusually quiet first-half, Brazil’s Vinicius Junior had a goal disallowed after 67 minutes but with just 10 minutes on the clock, Casemiro came up with a goal of his own taking the lead. That goal turned out to be the sole one of the match with Uruguay unable to find a way past the world No. 1.
While Brazil and Portugal both added three points to the table, Serbia of Group G was held to a 3-3 draw against Cameroon. It was Cameroon to open the scoring in the 29th minute when defender Jean-Charles Castelletto slotted the ball into the back of the net.
But Strahinja Pavlovic of Serbia quickly equalized the scoring in the 46th minute of the first half, following up with a second goal from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic two minutes later before the whistle blew.
At the start of the second half, Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic took the score to 3-1.
It seemed that Serbia could win three points easily but Vincent Aboubakar of Cameroon, who came in as a substitute in the second half, was able to turn things around with an assist and a goal.
Aboubakar scored in the 64th minute then assisted striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting two minutes later to score the equalizer.
With both sides having dropped their opening games, with Serbia beaten 2-0 by Brazil and Cameroon losing 1-0 to Switzerland, they each have one point.
Switzerland now needs to win their last match against Serbia to earn a spot in the knock out stage. If they draw, the outcome of the match between Brazil and Cameroon on Friday will determine Switzerland's fate.
BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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