Once Uruguay were 1-0 up, they knew they were in control and played a 4-4-2 formation when they did not have the ball. Portugal had 64% of possession in the first half but just couldn’t make progress into the final third.
Uruguay were rigid in defence – as Oscar Tabarez’s teams usually are – and the first half showed why they were the only team yet to concede in the tournament.
Ronaldo initially started on the left, trying to attack Martin Caceres and Jose Gimenez (who had returned to the squad after recovering from an injury). But he had no luck with Caceres using his experience to prevent him from drifting wide while Nahitan Nandez also tracked back to help out the defence.
The Real Madrid star had no choice but to cut in where the next defender and even the central midfielders stood in his way. As a result, Ronaldo then shifted to the right side of the attack but again he had no luck with skipper Diego Godin standing tall.
The only time Ronaldo made his presence felt was when he bunched up his shorts for a free-kick that was hit straight at the wall and cleared. Even the second half saw Ronaldo fail to make any sort of impact on the game.
This is Ronaldo’s fourth World Cup. And, just like Lionel Messi, he has failed to score in the knockout stages yet again.
Sadly, at 33, this may be his last World Cup game and the only thing the reigning Ballon d’Or winner had to show for it was a 94th-minute yellow card that could have ruled him out of the quarter-final had Portugal qualified.