Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal secured its place in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup on Monday thanks to a brace by Bruno Fernandes, CR7's former Manchester United teammate, against Uruguay (2-0).
After its first victory over Ghana (3-2), the Portuguese Seleção leads Group H with six points, ahead of Ghana (3 points), then Uruguay and South Korea (one point).
Portugal will need just one point against South Korea to secure first place and thus avoid Brazil in the round of 16.
Controversy over the first goal
The Lusitanians opened the scoring in the 54th minute. Bruno Fernandes looked for the head of Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not touch the ball. But the midfielder ended his run in the South American cage to score a goal that FIFA first attributed to CR7 but which eventually logically returned to his teammate.
“Who scored the first goal? I think it was a great match and the rest doesn't matter“, Santos left, refusing in a press conference to inflame any ego war between the two players whose relations sometimes seem very cold: “I said my team is very united and we are providing the answers“, added the coach.
Claim
To end any debate, Adidas confirmed that the sensors inside the ball did not register any impact when the CR7 touched the skin of the head.
Therefore, the first Portuguese goal against Uruguay was the work of Bruno Fernandes.