Against Portugal the sons of Salto showed what can be achieved when hard work and organisation are combined with a little stardust and patriotic fervour

On a night of twists and turns in Sochi, Uruguay advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup and, in this most unpredictable of tournaments, with the holders and two best players on the planet no longer on show, nobody can say with certainty and conviction that Óscar Tabárez’s side cannot go all the way.

Nowhere will they believe that more than in Salto, Uruguay’s second largest city, located a little over 300 miles north west of the capital Montevideo and where, on 24 January 1987, Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz came into this world. A mere three weeks later, on Valentine’s Day, he was joined by Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez and three decades on they are once again doing their hometown proud. More than that, they are doing their country proud.

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Along with the wily and wonderful Diego Godín, Suárez and Cavani are the standout players of a team who, more than any other at this World Cup, show what can be achieved when hard work and organisation are combined with a little stardust and patriotic fervour. Uruguay ultimately may not win the tournament but they are going to die trying and, as Portugal discovered to their cost, no one in Tabárez’s ranks fights harder for the cause then the two men up top.

By the end Cavani was sitting on the bench nursing a hamstring strain having scored twice while Suárez was still out there, running the ball into the channel and doing everything he could to maintain Uruguay’s 2-1 lead. Both players had done their bit, their bodies aching and covered in sweat, and, on the basis Cavani can recover in time, they will undoubtedly cause France problems in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday.

There may not be two other strikers in the world like Suárez and Cavani; utterly dedicated, utterly selfless and, in their own ways, really talented. Suárez is the star, all manic energy and touches of jaw‑dropping genius, but Cavani deserves his dues, with 45 goals in 105 international appearances suggesting the 31-year-old is not the misfiring misfit as he is often portrayed. The Paris Saint-Germain man has an incredible knack for finding space and a little over an hour into Uruguay’s biggest game in eight years he showed he can combine that with finishing of the most sublime standard.

Play Video 0:51 Uruguay fans elated as they beat Portugal to reach World Cup quarter-finals – video

Having drifted towards the right‑hand edge of Portugal’s area, Cavani collected Rodrigo Bentancur’s pass, opened up his body and sent a side-footed shot past the reach of Rui Patrício into the far corner of the net. It was instinctive and unstoppable and saw Uruguay wrestle back control of proceedings following Pepe’s equaliser on 55 minutes.

It was a poor goal for Uruguay to concede given the defender was able to send a header past Fernando Muslera from an unmarked position in the centre of the area. It also cancelled out the moment that, in almost a blink of an eye, showcased Suárez’s and Cavani’s ability to combine in devastating harmony.

Barely seven minutes had been played when Cavani, in a deep-right position, swept a pass out to the left flank where Suárez, having cut inside Ricardo Pereira, sent a perfectly weighted cross towards his strike partner as he moved towards the back post. Cavani’s finish was clumsy, with the ball bouncing off his face before going in, but the move was a pleasure to behold: two world-class players in synch, their understanding telepathic. Saltopathic.

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And so a game many predicted would be defined by “shithouse” behaviour was decided by two moments of beauty, and for Uruguay now comes the chance to, at the very least, match their feat of the 2010 World Cup, when they reached the semi-finals. Suárez’s participation in South Africa is best remembered for that handball against Ghana and, given his ruthless, win-at-all costs mentality, a similar incident cannot be ruled out in Russia.

Equally, however, that would be doing Suárez a disservice. He has yet to be booked at these finals and, as had been the case by this stage of the last World Cup, yet to bite anyone, and while there were some questionable moments from the Barcelona man against Portugal, there was nothing that crossed a line or could take away from his smart, selfless and productive contribution.

Uruguay got that out of Cavani too and, before the game against France, it is now a case of waiting to see if he is fit enough to yet again line up alongside Suárez.

Not for the first time, the hopes of a nation rest on the shoulders of the brilliant boys from Salto.