SOCHI, Russia -- Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez lauded his side's dedication and commitment on Saturday, after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Portugal took them into the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
Edinson Cavani, who failed to finish the match after suffering a late injury, scored a superb goal in each half, and although Pepe scored in between, it was not enough to halt the Uruguayans, who have won all four of their matches so far in Russia.
"The distinctive feature of the game was the dedication the players showed on the pitch, and that is the way that we see football," Tabarez said. "It was difficult. Portugal had more possession and were often in our half of the pitch, and it would have been better for us to have more of the ball and play the game closer to their goal.
"Today we committed a mistake that led to the equaliser, but we have a very strong team in terms of mindset," Tabarez added, citing the value of his team's "intensity, focus and tactical intuition."
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Portugal had 61 percent of the possession and four times as many shots at goal as the Uruguayans, but Tabarez dismissed possession as a mere statistic and said what mattered was creating and converting chances.
"I think there is often a mistaken assumption that possession leads to goal-scoring opportunities," said the former coach of Cagliari and AC Milan.
"I learned that in Italy when I worked there. In Italy, ball possession isn't sanctified as it is elsewhere. Even if you don't have a lot of possession, you can inflict pain on your opponent."
Tabarez saluted man-of-the-match Cavani but said he was not sure whether the Paris St Germain striker, who limped off in the 74th minute, would be ready for next Friday's quarterfinal against France.
Uruguay, world champions in 1930 and 1950, will play France, who beat Argentina 4-3 earlier in the day, on July 6 in Nizhny Novgorod.