Uruguay vs Russia: Live blog, text commentary, line-ups, stream & TV channel

Ryan Kelly

Uruguay vs Russia: Live blog, text commentary, line-ups, stream & TV channel image

Uruguay and Russia will now have their eyes firmly set in this evening's final fixtures in Group B, as they will face off against one of those nations. Portugal and Spain look to be the most likely teams they will face but Iran still have the chance of causing an upset.

Uruguay were too good for Russia in the end and a 3-0 victory ensures La Celeste advance to the round of 16 with a 100% record from the group stages. The host nation struggled to deal with Uruguay's two star strikers and know that this may be just the beginning of their challenges, as fierce competitors await in the knockout stages.

FULL-TIME: URUGUAY 3-0 RUSSIA


90+3 mins: Third and final change for Uruguay, as Cavani is replaced by Gomez.

90+3 mins: All five of Uruguay's World Cup goals in 2018 have come via set-pieces.

90+1 mins: We are into four minutes of added time.

90 mins: GOAL! 3-0 Uruguay! Cavani finally gets his goal! The corner is whipped into a dangerous area and Godin rises highest to head at goal. Akinfeev makes a strong save but Cavani is there to tuck away the rebound.

90 mins: SAVE! Rodriguez strikes a dierce shot from outside the box towards the top right corner but Akinfeev dives to superbly tip the ball over the bar.

88 mins: Free-kick to Russia in a decent position but Samedov delivery is wasted yet again, firing too hard and straight behind Muslera's goal.

86 mins: OVER! Cavani just cannot get his goal! He weaves his way through the defenders in the box but sees his effort deflected over the bar.

85 mins: A huge waste for Russia! Smolov surges down the left side and does brilliantly to make room but his low ball back across the face of goal is pounced on by Muslera.

84 mins: WIDE! De Arrascaeta fires a corner towards the edge of the six-yard box, where Caceres misjudges his jump and flicks a header wide of the target.

82 mins: SAVE! Rodriguez tries to beat Akinfeev from distance but his swerving effort is kept out.

80 mins: WASTED! A huge chance for Cavani to open his account in Russia! The ball is sloppily given away to the Paris Saint-Germain star, who feeds a pass through to Suarez before it is cut back across the face of goal in his direction. However, he fails to get on the end of it.

78 mins: Torreira has been fantastic today but requires some treatment after receiving a hit on his leg. Thankfully, he looks to be able to continue and is back on the field.

76 mins: Neither Russia, or the fans in the crowd, have let their head drop despite the scoreline. The carnival atmosphere in Samara continues and there is still time for the hosts to grab a goal.

74 mins: WASTED! Muslera sloppily concedes possesion and Russia break. Dzyuba cuts back onto his left foot and slices a shot well off target.

73 mins: Uruguay make their second change of the game, bringing on Rodriguez for Nandez.

71 mins: Dzyuba is down in the box after a coming together with Godin and VAR is on action to ensure there was no infringement. There was contact between the arm of the Atletico Madrid defender and the Russia striker but it was certainly unintentional.

69 mins: Cavani, still without a goal at the tournament, drives inside from the left but drags his shot beyond Akinfeev's right-hand post.

68 mins: Uruguay, knowing their work is almost done, have taken their foot off the gas as Godin strikes an ambitious effort well wide of the target. 

66 mins: Russia continue to put the Uruguay defence under significant pressure but they are unable to find room for a shot and Muslera remains unthreatened on his 100th cap.

64 mins: Cavani picks up Nandez's pass inside the area and tumbles to ground, appealing for a penalty, but neither the referee or VAR are interested in his appeals.

63 mins: Uruguay make their first change of the game, replacing Bentancur with De Arrascaeta.

62 mins:  Stanislav Cherchesov is on the edge of his technical area urging the fans in Samara to keep making lots of noise, as Russia enjoy a decent period of possession.

60 mins: Russia make their third and final change, bringing on Smolov for Miranchuk.

58 mins: Russia are showing they have the capacity to cause Uruguay problems when they push forward but the lack of creativity, with Cheryshev substituted off and Golovin on the bench, is limiting their ability in the final third.

56 mins: Fernandes is quick to pounce on a loose ball but Miranchuk fails to get on the end of his pace through and a golden opportunity for Russia is wasted.

54 mins: Better from Russia down the right side but Kuzyaev is unable to keep the ball in play.

52 mins: Russia have not got going in the final third and the departure of Cheryshev in the first half will have certainly affected that. Uruguay, meanwhile, look to be in the mood.

50 mins: Russia are playing with a much more contained style in the opening stages of the second period, looking to limit Uruguay's threat moving forward, but Suarez and Cavani are still finding room to work with.

48 mins: Cavani smashes an early free-kick into the wall as Uruguay begin the second period with the same sort of dominance we saw in the opening 45 minutes.

46 mins: KICK-OFF! Back underway for the second half in Samara.

46 mins: Russia start the second half by making a change, replacing Gazinskiy with Kuzyaev.


Uruguay have not created too much but they have taken their chances in the first half. Suarez opened the scoring with a superb free-kick, before was unfortunate to deflect a Laxalt shot into his own net. Things got worst for the hosts when Smolnikov earned his marching orders for a second yellow card, reducing Russia to 10 men.

Lucas Torreira

HALF TIME: URUGUAY 2-0 RUSSIA


45+1 mins: We have entered two added minutes at the end of the first half.

44 mins: Uruguay are taking a breather with the ball to escape the heat and look set to advance through to the round of 16 as group winners. There is still another half to play but Russia have not done enough in the final third.

42 mins: Russia's heads have understandably dropped and Uruguay are knocking the ball around comfortably, benefitting from the extra space.

40 mins: Uruguay have not created many clear-cut opportunities but should now be able to with Russia down to 10 men. It was surprising to see Cheryshev taken off though, as he has been the host's best player throughout the tournament.

38 mins:  Russia respond by making a substitution, introducing Fernandes in place of Cheryshev.

36 mins: RED CARD! The game gets worse for Russia! Smolnikov lunges in on Laxalt and earns a second yellow card.

35 mins: Heading into the final ten minutes of the half and Russia look to be increasingly frustrated. The hosts look like they would benefit from a half-time break.

33 mins: Russia need to keep strong defensively before the break, as a third goal for Uruguay would put them in firm control.

31 mins: Uruguay have scored two goals in the first half of a World Cup game for the first time since 1966 against France.

30 mins: Russia increasingly exposed defensively as Suarez breaks through on goal but fantastic recovery from Iganashevich prevents the Barcelona man from trying for a second goal.

28 mins: Smolnikov earns the game's second booking after clattering into Cavani on the halfway line.

28 mins: SAVE! The game is now opening up more for Uruguay, who come close to a third. Bentancur tries to tuck the ball through the legs of Akinfeev but the Russia stopper saves it, before the defence clear their lines.

25 mins: Uruguay's second goal may now knock the stuffing out of Russia and the hosts need to ensure they remain in the game edging towards half time. The support from the stands is still as magnificent as ever though.

23 mins: GOOOAL! 2-0 Uruguay! The corner is headed away but only as far as Laxalt, who strikes an effort towards Akinfeev's goal that takes a major deflection off Cheryshev - leaving the Russia goalkeeper with no chance.

22 mins: Another set-piee opportunity for Uruguay, this time on the right. Torreira is the man to take, whipping a ball in towards Cavani, but Dzyuba clears the ball away for a corner.

20 mins: The atmosphere in Samara sounds absolutely electric. Both sets of supporters have not been put off by the scorching heat.

18 mins: Russia have certainly not been put off by conceding the opening goal, they are still playing on the front foot and remain looking confident.

16 mins: Torreira, widely reported to be joining Arsenal after the World Cup, has impressed in the opening exchanges by sitting in front of the Uruguay defence and mopping up any danger that comes his way.

14 mins: Suarez's free-kick was the 6th direct free-kick goal at this years World Cup, surpassing the 2014 total of 5.

13 mins: SAVE! Dzyuba heads the ball down to Cheryshev, who smashes at goal and forces Muslera into a save.

12 mins: Russia have a free-kick in an attacking position on the right, allowing Cheryshev to deliver. He whips it towards the near post and Torreira scrambles the ball away.

Luis Suarez Uruguay 2018 World Cup

10 mins: GOOOOAL! Uruguay take the lead! Suarez steps up and drills a fantastic free-kick into the bottom right-hand corner, beyond the reach of Akinfeev. A fantastic finish and a goal that sends Uruguay top of the group as things stand.

9 mins: Gazinskiy clatters into Bentancur on the edge of the box after Uruguay hit on the counter, earning the defender a yellow card.

8 mins: The World Cup hosts are also attacking very quickly when they pick up the ball, not allowing Uruguay to set themselves defensively.

6 mins: Russia have come out of the blocks flying and are showing plenty of willingness to attack, not allowing Uruguay time on the ball to build from the back.

4 mins: Cavani is on the receiving end of a clattering but fair tackle and is furious with the challenge, earning a warning from the referee.

2 mins: WIDE! Vecino surges forward from midfield and strikes for goal from distance but it bounces wide of the mark.

1 min:  KICK-OFF! We're underway in Samara, where Russia get us started.


10 mins until KO: Russia have won six of their eight meetings against Uruguay. La Celeste last beat Russia at the 1970 World Cup.

Russia make three changes to the side that defeated Egypt, including dropping Golovin to the bench as he is on a yellow card. Smolnikov, Kudryashov and Miranchuk all come in. Cheryshev has been the star of the show for the hosts so far, netting three goals in two matches.

15 mins until KO: Uruguay make four changes to the side that defeated Saudi Arabia, with Coates, Nandez, Laxalt and Torreira all starting. Varela, Sanchez and Rodriguez drop out, while Jose Gimenez misses out through injury. Muslera earns his 100th cap for Uruguay between the sticks.

Russia subs: Andrey Lunev, Vladimir Gabulov, Daler Kuzyaev, Vladimir Granat, Aleksandr Golovin, Fedor Smolov, Andrey Semenov, Aleksandr Erokhin, Mario Fernandes, Yuri Zhirkov, Anton Miranchuk.

Uruguay subs: Martin Campana, Martin Silva, Cristian Rodriguez, Maxi Gomez, Guillermo Varela, Cristhian Stuani, Giorgan de Arrascaeta, Carlos Sanchez, Gaston Silva, Jonathan Urretaviscaya, Maxi Pereira.

Russia XI: Igor Akinfeev; Igor Smolnikov, Ilya Kutepov, Sergei Ignashevich, Fedor Kudryashov; Roman Zobnin, Yuri Gazinskiy; Aleksandr Samedov, Aleksey Miranchuk, Denis Cheryshev; Artem Dzyuba.

Uruguay XI: Fernando Muslera; Sebastian Coates, Diego Godin, Martin Caceres; Lucas Torreira; Nahitan Nandez, Matias Vecino, Rodrigo Bentancur, Diego Laxalt; Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani.

Uruguay have only managed to score twice so far this tournament, despite their devastating attack, and there is certainly more to come from La Celeste. Luis Suarez has not managed to grab the headlines so far, although with his track record that may be a good thing, but Oscar Tabarez will certainly hope to see more from the Barcelona man.

30 mins until KO: The group stages come to a close this week and Russia have certainly been one of the surprise packages so far at the World Cup. Heading into today's match, the host nation hold a much superior goal difference to Uruguay and know a draw will be enough for them to finish top. If they taste defeat, they will drop to second.

45 mins until KO: Hello and welcome to live text commentary of the Group A match between Uruguay and Russia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.


Squads & Team News


Confirmed Uruguay XI: Muslera; Coates, Godin, Caceres, Laxalt; Nandez, Torreira, Bentancur, Vecino; Suarez, Cavani

Uruguay subs:  Silva, Campana, Varela, Pereira, Silva, Sanchez, Rodriguez, Urretaviscaya, De Arrascaeta, Gomez, Stuani

Confirmed Russia XI: Akinfeev; Smolnikov, Kutepov, Ignashevich, Kudryashov; Gazinskiy, Zobnin, Samedov, Miranchuk, Cheryshev; Dzyuba

Russia subs:  Fernandes, Semenov, Kuzyaev, Smolov, Lunev, Granat, An Miranchuk, Golovin, Zhirkov, Gabulov, Erokhin


TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch


In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

US TV channel Online stream
FOX / Telemundo fubo TV (7-day free trial)

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV on BBC or streamed live online using the ITV Player.

UK TV channel Online stream
ITV One ITV Player

Ryan Kelly