Lusail (Qatar): Cristiano Ronaldo thought he scored but the goal was eventually credited to Bruno Fernandes in Portugal’s 2-0 win over Uruguay Monday, a result that secured the team a place in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Fernandes curled in a cross from the left that barely went over the head of Ronaldo and bounced into the far corner of the net in the 54th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 lead.
Ronaldo wheeled away in celebration, believing he had scored his ninth World Cup goal and second of this year’s tournament.
After repeated close-up replays, it was awarded to Fernandes, who added a second goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time after a handball by Jose Maria Gimenez.
It was a second straight victory for Portugal, which became the third team to reach the last 16 after France and Brazil.
Uruguay has one point from two matches and needs to beat Ghana on Friday to stand a chance of advancing.
The match was briefly interrupted just before the goal by a protestor carrying a rainbow flag and wearing a blue Superman T-shirt that said “SAVE UKRAINE” on the front and “RESPECT FOR IRANIAN WOMAN” on the back.
Security officials chased the person down and the flag was dropped on the field.