The FIFA World Cup (FWC) knockout phases await Portugal, who advanced to the last 16 with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Uruguay.
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In terms of opportunities, the opening 30 minutes were relatively lukewarm, with neither goalkeeper called into action despite the best efforts of William Carvalho, who thundered a shot barely over the bar.
Costa’s stop was even more crucial after the break, when Portugal cranked up the gears and reaped the benefits of their efforts within ten minutes of the restart.
Uruguay may have missed the experience and cunning of Luis Suárez, who came on with less than 20 minutes remaining, but it was another replacement, Maxi Gómez, who came close to scoring a leveller right away, his attempt crashing off the upright.
Portugal controlled the remainder of the game rather well, and added some gloss to the outcome in stoppage time when Fernandes doubled their advantage from the spot, leaving them needing only a point from their final group stage encounter against South Korea to ensure top position in Group H.
