Bruno Fernandes admitted he thought Cristiano Ronaldo had scored the ninth World Cup goal of his career before finally being credited with the first of a double that sent Portugal into the knockout stages of Qatar 2022.
A Fernandes cross early in the second half drifted into the Uruguay net although Ronaldo seemed to claim he had glanced in his second goal of this tournament. And his former Manchester United teammate was initially convinced by Ronaldo’s celebrations, saying: “I celebrated as if it had been Cristiano's goal. It seemed to me that he had touched the ball. My aim was to cross the ball for him.
“We are happy with the victory regardless of who scored. The most important thing is that we achieved our aim which is to be in the next round.”
Manager Fernando Santos refused to comment on the debate over the Fernandes first but when asked about Ronaldo’s overall contortion, he said: “Ronaldo played a great game but all our team played a great performance.
“I think it was a great match, our team played very well and the rest for me does not matter.”
And Manchester City defender Ruben Dias added: “We know even though we have all the individuals in the world, if we don't work together we won't go anywhere. So this is a big example that we showed tonight.
“We are very happy we are moving forward to the next round. We must enjoy the moment.”
Ruben Neves said he hoped Qatari authorities would be lenient with the pitch invader who interrupted the match and brought it to a halt during the second half.
The incident occurred minutes before Portugal took a 1-0 lead through Bruno Fernandes. The man holding the pride flag was also wearing a t-shirt which read 'Save Ukraine ' on the front and on the back read 'Respect For Iranian Women'.
“Of course, we are all with them and the message on his shirt as well,” the Wolves midfielder said.“We hope nothing happens to the boy because we understand his message and I think all the world understood it as well.
“We know what has happened around this World Cup. It is a normal thing that can happen.”
