Uruguay 2-1 Portugal, World Cup 2018: Cristiano Ronaldo follows Lionel Messi out as Edinson Cavani delights

Here are five things we learned as Portugal crashed out of the World Cup

Uruguay booked their place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup after beating Portugal 2-1 in Sochi.

Edinson Cavani struck twice for the South Americans, before later being substituted due to injury, while Pepe found the back of the net for Portugal.

Uruguay now face France in the last eight after Didier Deschamps' side overcame Argentina in a thrilling 4-3 win.

Here are five things we learned.

Ronaldo deserved a grander exit

Ronaldo's tournament is over (Getty) (Getty Images)

We had already seen one legend of the game bow out of this tournament in relatively ignoble circumstances. We did not expect to see another follow quite so quickly.

For Lionel Messi it was not how he wanted it to end; blown away on a steaming-hot afternoon in Kazan, struggling to make an impact himself but ultimately let down by a defence that struggled against average opponents in the group stage and was then destroyed by elite ones when it mattered.

Cristiano Ronaldo, too, deserved a better ending. So influential against Spain and Morocco before a middling performance in the draw with Iran, Ronaldo again struggled here, marked closely throughout and unable to inspire his side to victory. Will he appear in another World Cup? He will be 37 by the time Qatar 2022 rolls around – meaning even if he does make it he will surely be beyond his best. This was his chance. Uruguay did superbly well to spoil it.

• Kylian Mbappe comes of age to end Lionel Messi's World Cup dream

Edinson Cavani seizes his moment in the spotlight

Cavani celebrates his opening goal (Getty)

Cavani has waited for this kind of milestone match-turning moment for far longer than you may think, as explored by Rupert Fryer in this recent article.

Throughout those years spent emerging as one of the world’s leading centre-forwards, there was no natural place for el Matador in his national side. Diego Forlán was king. With a dearth of creative midfielders, it was Forlán who knitted together and otherwise broken team. And with Luis Suárez leading the line, Cavani had to get in where he could fit in. “I always say I’m a football worker,” he insists.

But here – after a relatively hot and cold start to this tournament – Cavani grabbed his moment in the spotlight with both hands, directing Suárez’s superb cross into the Portuguese net with his face. His second was even better: a sumptuous first-time finish around Rui Patrício. What a shame he later hobbled off injured, replaced halfway through the second-half. He would be a huge loss for the quarter-final against France.

• Edinson Cavani looking to pay Uruguay back after years of being the one owed something

No shithousery here

This was not a dirty game (Getty) (Getty Images)

When it became clear, some time on Monday night, that Uruguay and Portugal would meet in Sochi in this World Cup’s round of 16, one word dominated the refined discourse on English-language social media platforms. The word was ‘shithousery’.

However, the word does not really come close to representing the quiet and dignified approach of Oscar Washington Tabarez – who was perhaps the second-most influential figure on this knockout tie, behind Ronaldo. Nor does the term describe how his Uruguay side have conducted themselves during this World Cup so far.

And while there were a high number of fouls – 13 from Uruguay, 13 from Portugal – referee César Arturo Ramos Palazuelos largely kept his cards in his pocket, with Roanldo the only player to be booked. The petty war of attrition that seemingly everybody expected did not really materialise.

• Uruguay no longer reliant on dark arts under Oscar Tabarez

Uruguay’s defence finally breached

Godin was in top form (Getty)

Uruguay are set up to play around their best player: not one of their marquee forwards, but the central defender Diego Godín.

Tabarez’s team is set up with the express intention of sitting deep to prevent Godín’s lack of pace being exposed, with his defence quickly swarming around any potential attacks, content to sit deep where necessary. And while Portugal did eventually breach their defence – the first goal they have conceded at this tournament – Uruguay otherwise marshalled the likes of Ronaldo well.

The fact that Portugal’s goal came about because of a Godín error neatly evidences just how important the 32-year-old is to his team, and how he usually drags his team-mates up to his impeccable level. Portugal took a short corner and Raphael Guerreiro’s cross fell to Pepe who headed in, with Godin so obsessed with stopping Ronaldo that he had left the defender unmarked.

• Read Jack Watson's scout report here.

Are Portugal really more than just Ronaldo?

Uruguay's Torreira, left, challenges Ronaldo (AP)

Ahead of this game, Fernando Santos stressed that his side are more than just Ronaldo. Until Pepe’s header, Ronaldo had scored all but one of Portugal’s five goals during their Group B campaign, including a hat-trick to earn a point in the 3-3 draw with Spain.

Diego Forlan, the former Uruguay international and ex-Manchester United team-mate of Ronaldo’s, claimed on Friday that the 33-year-old makes up “50 per cent” of Portugal’s team.

And despite Santos’ protestations otherwise, this game seemed to prove Forlan’s theory correct. With Ronaldo well marked by Godín throughout the game, Portugal looked short of ideas and did not ever look capable of scoring a dramatic late equaliser like against Spain, despite all of their possession.

Simply put: Ronaldo helps elevate this decidedly average team to a level comfortably above themselves. The future without him currently looks very bleak for the national team, and so it is a good thing Ronaldo has repeatedly claimed he can play up until the age of 40.

• How a missed penalty and personal feud reminded us all Cristiano Ronaldo is just another player