Suarez helps Uruguay win Group A; Russia fall short

SAMARA, Russia -- Three thoughts on Uruguay's 3-0 win vs. Russia in Group A at the World Cup.

1. Improving Uruguay claim top spot

Uruguay will be happy to have had such an easy time of things as they wrapped up first place in Group A. Russia's confident, revitalised team looked like one that could stretch them; instead the game was essentially over by half-time, with Luis Suarez scoring a sweetly-taken free kick before Denys Cheryshev netted an unfortunate own goal. A red card for Igor Smolnikovv ensured Russia had no way back and Edinson Cavani confirmed an easy victory late on.

The atmosphere in Samara was loud and festive but Suarez found the perfect way to dampen it within 11 minutes. A move that started with a loose pass from Russia right-back Smolnikov ended with Uruguay winning a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. It immediately looked perfectly positioned for Suarez to find the corner and he duly obliged, sweeping a crisp, low finish to Igor Akinfeev's left and putting Uruguay in the driving seat.

In response, Russia huffed and puffed and then found themselves two goals down. Diego Laxalt's left-footed shot, following a cleared corner, looked to be heading well wide but took a cruel clip off Cheryshev, completely changing its direction and giving Akinfeev no chance. It was almost three soon after when fine work from Suarez set up Rodrigo Bentancur, whose effort was saved.

Russia's chances of mustering a response were effectively ended when Smolnikov was shown a second yellow card six minutes before the interval for fouling the speedy Laxalt. In-form winger Cheryshev was substituted as a result with manager Stanislav Cherchesov seeking to shore things up.

That was, in truth, virtually that. Both through to the Round of 16, there was no need for either team to exert itself overly on a hot, sticky evening. Cavani shot wide and Artyom Dzyuba did much the same for Russia after a slack pass out from Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. The last act was for Cavani to get his goal, converting a rebound from a Diego Godin header.

Uruguay's best performance of the group stage saw them overcome the World Cup hosts. Getty

2. Russia momentum checked vs. high-level opposition

It all went wrong for the hosts and, while they still comfortably progress to the last 16, the consequences of this defeat will become apparent further down the line.

They may live to regret an error-strewn early spell that gave Uruguay a comfortable evening and, if the joy of the last 10 days is not to fall flat, will certainly need to regroup when they walk out at the Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday. Saudi Arabia and Egypt let minor errors off the hook but here, against a Uruguay team full of quality and experience for this level, Russia got away far less lightly.

There is consolation that this was not their full-strength team and that, when they play in the last 16, three key players will be relatively fresh. A high-octane start to the tournament had come at a small price and Cherchesov took no risks: Aleksandr Golovin, their influential playmaker, has a yellow card to his name and was left on the bench; full-backs Mario Fernandes and Yury Zhirkov were rested.

The extent to which Cherchesov's best-laid plans came apart, though, was shown when Fernandes had to be deployed before half-time upon Smolnikov's dismissal. Russia were frayed in all areas of the pitch and, even though they manufactured a couple of half-openings after the interval, they could have lost by more.

The task now for their manager will be to make sure they do not lose heart; victory here would have been more of a nice-to-have than obligatory and, if the party is going to continue, then they will need to rediscover their old energy in Moscow this weekend.

World Cup 2018 must-reads

- Make your daily picks with ESPN FC Match Predictor 2018!
- Who is going through? Round of 16 permutations and scenarios
- World Cup Daily live blog: Follow the action on and off the pitch
- World Cup fixtures, results and coverage
- How to fix Argentina? Drop Caballero, pass to Messi quicker
- Which group stage World Cup matches still matter?
- Ronaldo, Lukaku in, Kane out of ESPN's team of Matchday Two

3. Suarez back to his old self, Cavani gets his goal

There is a sense that Uruguay have done the bare minimum needed to top Group A but the signs are that they are picking up form. They were certainly efficient here and, particularly after wasting so many chances earlier in the competition, they might be finding an agreeable balance between performance level and doing enough to win.

Oscar Tabarez made four personnel changes for this fixture with the idea, presumably, to both rest players for the second stage and -- perhaps more critically -- to happen upon a line-up that made the most of Uruguay's gifts.

They had spluttered in defeating Egypt and Saudi Arabia 1-0 but came out of the traps quickly vs. Russia. Suarez looks sharper and it was his smart reaction to Smolnikov's mistake that led to the free kick from which he opened the scoring.

There was also noticeably more control in midfield and, on his 21st birthday, a promising performance from the young Juventus playmaker Rodrigo Bentancur, who was unlucky not to score and looked composed throughout.

But perhaps the biggest plus was the late goal from Cavani, who had been frustrated during the group stage. His finish was simple, although he showed determination to reach the ball with Suarez also lurking, and certainly came as a relief.

Psychologically it could be an important step; Cavani, Suarez and Uruguay played within themselves here but only a fool would discount them from going through the gears.