Suarez scores as Uruguay rout Russia to top Group A
The Barcelona striker opened the scoring with a first half free kick
Luis Suarez scored a first half free kick as Uruguay beat host Russia 3-0 to wrap up top spot in Group A.
URU
3 ________________ 0
RUS
LINE UP
Uruguay
Muslera; Coates, Godín, Cáceres; Nández (Rodríguez, 73'), Vecino, Torreira, Bentancur (De Arrascaeta, 63'), Laxalt; Suárez, Cavani (Gómez, 93').
Rusia
Akinfeev; Smolnikov, Kutepov, Ignasevich, Kudryashov; Zobnin, Gazinskiy (Kuzyaev, 46'); Samedov, Miranchuk (Smolov, 60'), Cheryshev (Mario Fernandes, 38'); Dzyuba.
Goles
1-0 M 9 Suárez. 2-0 M Cheryshev (p.p). 3-0 M. 90 Cavani.
Árbitro
Malang Diedhiou (Senegal). Gazinskiy (9'), Smolnikov (2A, 36'), Bentancur (59').
Incidencias
Partido disputado en el Samara Arena ante 41.970 personas.
Both sides had already qualified going into the final game, but it was Russia who had caught the eye with impressive 5-0 and 3-0 wins against Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Uruguay, meanwhile, had beat both those nations by a single goal, leaving them behind Russia on goal difference going into the final game.
However, they always looked to have the better team on paper and that proved the case when the two sides met on Monday.
Barcelona striker Suarez opened the scoring after 10 minutes, driving a low free kick into the bottom corner.
Uruguay doubled their lead before the break when Diego Laxalt's long range strike was deflected into his own net by Denis Cheryshev.
Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani rounded off the scoring in the second half to confirm Uruguay's place in the last 16 as group winners with nine points from nine.
They will meet the runners-up from Spain and Portugal's group in the next round, with Russia playing the winners from the same group.
