Pragmatism rules as Uruguay face Portugal

Few teams at the World Cup have as much in common with each other as Uruguay and Portugal, who meet in a World Cup round of 16 tie on Saturday.

The match may not have the makings of a goal feast but still promises to be a fascinating battle between two teams who repeatedly punch above their weight and who are a mirror image of each other.

The South Americans, who won all three of their first round games to top their group, have so far been the most impressive of the two and are the only team yet to concede goal at the tournament in Russia.

Portugal, meanwhile, muddled through their group with draws against Spain and Iran and a fortuitous win over Morocco.

Coach Fernando Santos is always happy for his team to be considered the ugly ducklings.

Both teams boast forwards who divide public opinion despite their goalscoring prowess.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 85 goals in 153 appearances, although when he plays for his country there is sometimes a feeling that his goal celebrations are arrogant.

At the other end is Uruguay's Luis Suarez with 53 goals from 101 games but numerous controversies behind him including an nine-game international ban for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini four years ago.

Both teams use their attacking weapons sparingly.

Tabarez has always preferred to build him teams from the back, often arguing that tiny Uruguay does not have the resources to play flowing, attacking football.

That has begun to change with a new generation of midfielders but, even so, Uruguay are still very far from adopting anything that could be described as a cavalier approach.

Santos has never made any apologies for his no-risk policy.

"I can't understand the idea of a team that loses but delivers a great game," he said before the tournament. "It makes me confused."