Uruguay punish sluggish Russia to top Group A
SAMARA, Russia, (Reuters) - Uruguay burnished their World Cup credentials with a 3-0 victory over 10-man Russia yesterday, finishing top of Group A with a perfect record while dampening the hopes of the tournament hosts, who had to settle for second.
Luis Suarez grabbed his second goal of the tournament to open Uruguay’s account with a free kick after 10 minutes and they doubled the lead with an own goal from Russia’s Denis Cheryshev soon afterwards.
That silenced a vociferous home crowd which had been in party mode after Russia’s opening two victories and were not expecting their final group contest to be effectively ended in the 36th minute when Igor Smolnikov was sent off.
Edinson Cavani bundled home a third goal for Uruguay at the death to wrap up their third straight victory, ensuring they finished above the Russians, who will now have to face the winners of Group B in the last 16.
Uruguay, who kept their sixth straight clean sheet, will face the runners-up from Group B, which will be decided when Spain, Portugal and Iran battle it out for two last-16 spots later on Monday.
While Russia had confounded those who predicted a group stage exit with resounding victories over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, there was still a question mark over how they would perform when they faced stronger opposition.
Twice World Cup winners Uruguay offered them the chance to show they truly belonged among the elite, but it was an opportunity wasted, merely serving to give ammunition to the doubters.
“I believe that when we had 10 people in the pitch, we were running and wanted to attack more,” said Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov.
Yet while Smolnikov’s sending off may have ended Russia’s hopes of a third win, in truth the encounter had already swung decisively against them.