The direct elimination phase will begin with an incredible match. Uruguay, two times champion and with a rich history in tow, will face the current European champion, Portugal, in a duel where the winner will face France or Argentina in the quarterfinals. This is the third consecutive event in which Uruguay exceeds the group stage, while the classification of Portugal represents a trend in the right direction after the Portuguese team has not passed the group stage in Brazil 2014. Despite the fact that the presence of neither of these two teams in the knockout stages surprised, both had several problems during the group stage. However, Uruguay comes to this match as the only one in the tournament that still has not scored. In its last match it beat the host, Russia, by 3-0. On the other hand, Portugal's last game gives less reason to be confident about the team's actions. As expected, the 2016 European Championship champion controlled most of his last game of the group stage (against Iran), but a penalty (with the help of the VAR) gave the Asian side a draw. That result may have affected the confidence of the Portuguese team. After winning the World Cup in 1950, Uruguay's fourth place exactly six decades later (South Africa 2010) is still the best result for the South American team in modern times.