Uruguay booked their place in the knockout stages of the 2018 World Cup with a stoic and workmanlike 1-0 victory over resurgent Saudi Arabia.

Luis Suarez, so ineffective as La Celeste scraped a late 1-0 win in their opener against Egypt, leapt into life at the Rostov Arena, converting Carlos Sanchez’s first-half corner into an empty net after Mohammed Al Owais came for the cross through a crowd of bodies and soon regretted his decision.

Much like in their opening game it was a tense affair against a vastly improved Saudi side, who huffed and puffed but simply didn’t have the quality required to equalise and keep their hopes of progression alive.