MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Qatar 2022: Brazil advance, Uruguay need to beat Ghana to stand a chance

Eduardo Bolsonaro was spotted in Qatar while Bolsonarist still put up some resistance in the streets insisting Lula had won the Oct. 30 runoff through fraud

Brazil edged Switzerland 1-0 Monday in their second World Cup Group G game Monday. The South Americans thus secured a berth in the round of 16, while the rest of the series is yet to be decided Friday following a 3-3 draw between Serbia and Cameroon, although the latter seems to have more of an uphill task when they take on the five-time champions.

In Group H competition, Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal had no trouble dispatching a harmless Uruguay 2-0. The two-time world champions, who are still to score a goal in the tournament, might still advance if they manage to beat Ghana, 3-2 victors Monday over South Korea.

Two goals by Bruno Fernandes gave Portugal the victory. It was first believed that Cristiano Ronaldo had headed the ball home after a cross, but video monitoring showed CR7 had had no contact with the ball and therefore Fernandes was credited with the opener. Once again a VAR review resulted in Portugal being awarded a penalty kick two minutes before the end. Uruguay's Josema Giménez had indeed touched the ball with his hand inside the box and Fernandes did the honors.

Uruguay, with a draw and a loss so far, must now beat Ghana in the third match to reach 4 points and hope South Korea are unable to do the same with Portugal, in which case the goal difference will prove crucial. In any case, after Portugal seized the Group's first place, Uruguay's best hopes are to finish second in the series.

In addition to advancing to the next phase, the two Portuguese-speaking countries are becoming strong candidates to lift the trophy, which Brazil has done so far five times against Portugal's none. In addition to that, the European squad continues to Cristiano Ronaldo (CR7) available, while Brazil's Neymar is still recovering from an injury in the opening game against Serbia and it remains to be seen whether he will be fit in time to return to the pitch.

Neymar posted a picture of himself (of his ankle actually) watching the game on TV Monday. He is suffering from a ligament injury on his right ankle and bone edema for which he is wearing a NASA-made therapeutic boot to speed up his recovery. He is not expected to be back against Cameroon Friday, but Brazil's coach and fans hope to be able to count on him for future World Cup engagements.

Brazil was not full of joy after the canarinha's meager victory over Switzerland. But full of anger were President Jair Bolsonaro's supporters after the head of state's son, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, was spotted in Qatar watching the national team with his wife Heloísa.

”Eduardo Bolsonaro (Bananinha) ordering the suckers to stay in front of the barracks while enjoying the World Cup in Qatar“ posted a fan on social media in reference to calls for the armed forces to stage a coup d'état and prevent President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula from taking office Jan 1 after beating Bolsonaro in the Oct.30 presidential runoff.

”Eduardo Bolsonaro and his spouse are caught in Qatar enjoying game at the cup, while patriots are at the door of the barracks under rain, sun, heatstroke and leptospirosis,” another message read.

By Monday afternoon Eduardo Bolsonaro had not made any mention on social media that he would be in Qatar. But Heloísa shared a story wearing the same outfit as in pictures that went viral.