Real Madrid World Cup Spotlight: Valverde out despite Uruguay win, Rodrygo bright in defeat | OneFootball

The group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar came to an end on Friday and could go down as one of the best and most dramatic group stages in the history of the competition.

The early kickoff saw Portugal face off against South Korea in a clash that seemed set to end at parity. At the death, the Asians scored a clutch goal to set up a nail-biting finish in the group.

The pressure was on Uruguay to score a goal in stoppage time against Ghana in order to qualify. Eventually, the South American side were eliminated and South Korea qualified in second place.

Later in the night, Brazil fell to a shocking 1-0 loss to Cameroon while Serbia and Switzerland played out a thrilling contest that ended 3-2 in favour of the latter. Brazil finished on top of the group, with the Swiss men qualifying in second place on goal difference.

Madrid Universal brings you an overview of the performances of Real Madrid players on the night.

Federico Valverde (Uruguay vs Ghana)

The Uruguayan national team was subpar in its first two outings in the tournament but came out all guns blazing when they needed a win against Ghana. Once again, it was Federico Valverde who dictated the game for the South American side.

The Real Madrid midfielder had 93 touches in the match and completed 87% of his attempted passes. He was key in the team’s buildup play with five accurate long balls, and one key pass while completing all his attempted crosses. Further, he recorded three shots, including one on target.

He made some crucial defensive interventions too, including eight defensive actions. However, a late goal by South Korea changed the situation in the dying minutes. Uruguay, who seemed to be through were suddenly eliminated, ironically after their best performance.

Rodrygo Goes (Brazil vs Cameroon)

The Real Madrid protege received his first start in the World Cup against Cameroon and while the result may have gone against the tournament favourites, one cannot deny the class Rodrygo oozed.

The youngster was one of the primary sources of all of Cameroon’s worries for close to an hour before he was substituted. He constantly challenged the goalkeeper even from tight angles and even came painfully close to scoring on two occasions.

In 55 minutes, he had one shot blocked and one off-target. He completed 100% of his attempted dribbles and worked hard even when off the ball.

Eder Militao (Brazil vs Cameroon)

Eder Militao saw yellow just seven minutes into the game, and the booking played a massive role in his performance at Lusail Stadium.

The defender could not play freely with his position in-game at risk and opted to take a safer approach thereafter. He made just one tackle and won three duels. Nevertheless, Militao was very safe in possession and completed a whopping 93% of his passes and four out of six attempted long balls.

Vinicius Jr (Brazil vs Cameroon)

Tite opted to rest his regular starters against Cameroon and threw on several bench players who hoped to impress on their starts. The decision was justified given that the Selecao had already guaranteed their spot on top of their group. Vinicius started on the bench and stayed there, up until the final whistle.