World Cup 2018: Uruguay abandoned their fear of mistakes to demolish hosts Russia, reveals Barcelona striker Luis Suarez

The Barcelona star was pleased by his team's more expansive attacking play after scoring his second goal of the tournament

Luis Suarez praised Uruguay for playing without fear of making mistakes for the first time in this World Cup following their 3-0 rout of 10-man Russia in Samara.

After booking their place in the round of 16 with consecutive 1-0 wins over Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Oscar Tabarez’s men turned on the style to secure top spot in Group A, as Suarez and strike partner Edinson Cavani found the net either side of a Denis Cheryshev own goal.

Suarez got his team off to the perfect start in the 10th minute when he hammered a free-kick low just inside Igor Akinfeev’s far post, and after the match the Barcelona star voiced his satisfaction that Uruguay managed to be more expansive in the final third.

"It’s obviously what we wanted,” he said. “We wanted to keep growing throughout the World Cup and after winning two matches 1-0, we wanted to do even better. We wanted to play in the same way we did before.

“Obviously, the first few matches you’re tense and don’t want to make any mistakes or lose. One mistake can be very expensive. We came to the pitch with a different attitude and perspective and that’s made the pressure better. That’s what we saw on the pitch.”

Tabarez was also pleased by Uruguay’s most balanced performance of the tournament so far, but he warned that his team will need to reach an even higher level in the round of 16 in Sochi on Saturday.

“We could have won by even more goals,” he insisted. “We did not manage to score on certain counter-attacks that we should have. Sometimes the timing wasn’t perfect. We need to improve very quickly, because any match in the round of 16 will be extremely difficult.

"The result and to be top of our group pleased me most. We won by a wide margin but I like the fact that we didn’t concede. We need to work towards that end. And I liked the dedication and concentration that my team had. They were focused from end to end, the entire squad. They executed the plan that we worked towards and which we all agreed.

"For me the holy grail of football is the word: balance. When we attack we need to be able to attack, but it doesn’t come from an abstract suggestion. Whenever there is an attack it is because ball possession has been recovered or we have defended well on an opponent’s attack. We work on balance all of the time."

Russia also had Igor Smolnikov sent off after accruing two yellow cards in the space of 36 first-half minutes, and coach Stanislav Cherchesov played down the suggestion that the heavy nature of the defeat could hamper his team in the knockout stage.

"Even when we had 10 people on the pitch, they were running hard and they wanted to attack more – that’s why I brought on a substitute,” he said.

“Psychologically we are well prepared for the next games. I believe that we should come to some conclusions, during the training sessions: this is one thing and when you come to the pitch to play the game it’s another. This is an art to be prepared at any second.”