World Cup 2018: Portugal vs Uruguay; 5 Best, Worst and Average Players

1. Best: Edinson Cavani

Fighter, Winner!

On a night when Uruguay needed fire and passion to defeat Portugal, Cavani was the amalgamation of desire, determination and composure in difficult situations. Without the ball, he ran like a maniac, getting behind the loose deliveries and trying to drive the team ahead with quick sprints. His outrageous cross-field passes to the flanks to Suarez were beautiful and effective and helped Uruguay attack from spaces that had fewer Portuguese players.

He was effective while pressing the opposition, dropping back to defend and press the opposition as a unit. Despite being a forward, Cavani put up three tackles, clearly showing the tenacity and energy with which he played. He intercepted the ball once, and cleared it the same number of times, willingly playing a part in Uruguay’s strong defensive display.

Cavani’s finish for the second goal was supreme, as he adjusted to the awkward height of the ball and still managed to finish it to the far right corner despite his body being diagonally tilted to the opposite side. His first goal was even better from the build-up point of view as Cavani switched the play by passing it to Suarez on the opposite flank.

Then, Edinson made a ghost run from behind the defence and thumped an absolute belter of a header from the far post to give Uruguay an early lead in the competition. His energy and pace were embodiments of Uruguay’s style of play, and Edinson Cavani saw to it that they snatched a victory by putting up a tenacious fight.