How Can Uruguay Qualify For The Round Of 16 After Loosing To Portugal?

After suffering a 2-0 defeat from Portugal on Monday, Nov. 28, Uruguay sits at the bottom of the table with one point and will need a win against Ghana to climb up the table, Al Jazeera reported.

During the game, Portugal dominated possession in a scoreless first half, but Uruguay's Rodrigo Bentancur created the finest chance of the period when he outran three Portugal players and shot straight at Diogo Costa in goal.

A pass from Manchester United player Bruno Fernandes that sailed into the goal in the 54th minute broke the scoreless tie.

In the 72nd minute, Luis Suarez, a seasoned striker, and Maximiliano Gomez were introduced to the game in place of Darwin Nunez and Edinson Cavani.

However, despite Suarez's acrobatic win of a free kick and Gomez rattling the post right after entering the field, Uruguay failed to take advantage of their opportunities.

Portugal advanced to the round of 16 thanks to a penalty kick from Fernandes.

Fernando Santos, the coach of Portugal, said that his team earned its victory over Uruguay.

“The team fulfilled very well what I asked them to. They had one or two not-so-good moments,” he said after the match. “We’re through, but we have to keep working and improve.”

While one spot is confirmed from Group H, the second still remains unclear with all the remaining teams in contention to make the cut for the round of 16 now.

Although Uruguay is currently last in Group H, they still have a chance to advance if they defeat Ghana on Friday, Dec. 2, and Portugal defeats South Korea or draws with them.

If Uruguay draws or loses the next match, it will be out of the tournament.

In case of a draw, Ghana will be in contention with South Korea should the latter beat Portugal in the last group stage match.

In case of a win for Ghana, the Black Stars will follow Portugal into the round of 16.

Coach Diego Alonso of Uruguay said his side needed to "get over" the loss and focus on the upcoming match.

“We need to win. We can’t lose faith and optimism,” he said.