If you missed the major talking point of day nine at the World Cup, there was confusion around Portugal’s first strike against the South Americans.
Bruno Fernandes whipped in a cross that Ronaldo rose to meet. The legendary marksman claimed his head touched the ball before it sailed into the net and celebrated as if it was his.
But replays were inconclusive and the goal was officially awarded to Fernandes.
Ronaldo has reportedly continued to insist he made contact with the ball, telling Piers Morgan – who is in regular contact with the clubless star – he got a touch.
And Fernandes was on Ronaldo’s side too. “I celebrated (the goal) as if it had been Cristiano’s goal,” Fernandes said in his postmatch interview. “It seemed to me that he had touched the ball. My aim was to cross the ball for him.”
But technology in the match ball proved conclusively no contact was made, FIFA and ball manufacturers Adidas confirmed to ESPN.
“In the match between Portugal and Uruguay, using the Connected Ball Technology housed in adidas’s Al Rihla Official Match Ball, we are able to definitively show no contact on the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo for the opening goal in the game,” read a statement provided to ESPN from FIFA on behalf of Adidas.
“No external force on the ball could be measured as shown by the lack of ‘heartbeat’ in our measurements. The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows us to be highly accurate in our analysis.”
Despite the controversy, things are falling into place for Cristiano Ronaldo in Qatar.
Going into his fifth and final World Cup, Portugal’s chances of glory seemed slim, but now a dream run could mean Ronaldo’s dream is well and truly alive.
Off-field issues clouded Ronaldo going into the World Cup, after his contract with Manchester United was mutually terminated after an explosive interview he gave Piers Morgan criticising the English giants.
But now Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates could have a good run to a World Cup semi-final showdown with France.
Ronaldo has won it all at club level, and played in Portugal’s Euro 2016 victory but was injured in the final.
Fernandes scored twice to give Portugal a 2-0 victory over Uruguay on Monday and send them into the knock-out stages of the World Cup alongside France and Brazil.
The Manchester United midfielder scored a cross-cum-shot nine minutes into the second half and then added an injury-time penalty following a handball by Jose Maria Gimenez.
It means Portugal are favourites to top Group H and then face second place from Group F – likely to be Switzerland.
And with Germany looking unlikely to qualify, Portugal could then face Croatia in the quarter-finals.
Analytics site Nielsen has run more than a million simulations of the remaining matches in Qatar, and predicts Portugal will face France in the semi-finals.
It gives both teams a 50-50 chance if that happens.
Overall, Nielsen says Portugal now has a 19 per cent chance of making the final – even with Argentina and only behind France (20 per cent) and Brazil (38 per cent).
Of course, that is all a long way off.
Portugal face Korea Republic in its final group game, with just a draw enough to secure top spot.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos said of the Uruguay win: “It was a well-deserved victory.” “The first part is over, we are in a hurry. Now I will continue to work to improve what needs to improve,” he said.
“The team deserved it, they were solid and very strong both in the quality of the game and the bond between them.”
With Portugal already through, Uruguay must now beat Ghana in their final Group H match to stand any chance of also progressing.
Both sides made three changes from their opening matches, with Portugal bringing in veteran Pepe for the injured Danilo Pereira, who suffered cracked ribs in training.
Pepe became the third-oldest outfield player in World Cup history and it was his first full 90 minutes in more than a month and a half.
“I worked a lot with my club (Porto), which gave me the possibility of being 100 per cent for the national team,” said Pepe of his surprise start.
Portugal dominated the first half, hogging the ball and creating several chances, but without ever testing Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.
Uruguay’s forwards, Edinson Cavani and Darwin Nunez, were starved of the ball but the South Americans still had the best opportunity of the first period.
Rodrigo Bentancur picked the ball up in his own half and surged forwards, slipping between two defenders to find himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who spread himself well to save the midfielder’s shot.
Ronaldo was largely anonymous in the first 45 minutes but did delight fans with a shoulder pass to pick out William Carvalho, who volleyed over.
Fernandes said he thought Ronaldo had scored Portugal’s opener even though he was credited with the goal.
The Manchester United midfielder’s cross towards Ronaldo flew straight in but the veteran striker was a whisker away from making contact with the ball.
“I celebrated as if it had been Cristiano’s goal, it seemed to me that he had touched the ball, my aim was to cross the ball for him,” Fernandes said.
“What’s important is that we were able to go to the next round and (secure) a very important win against a very tough opponent.”
— with AFP
