Uruguay manager Oscar Tabarez has warned his players they must improve or risk being knocked at the last-16 stage.

La Celeste advanced to the knockout rounds on top of Group A after winning all three of their matches without conceding a goal.

The last came over Russia in a comfortable 3-0 victory in Samara, but speaking to reporters after the match, Tabarez insists there is room for improvement from his team.

"Russia did not push us around, they tried to put us into a corner," Tabarez said. "Not only did we prevent them from doing that, but we put them in their half of the pitch in the first half.

"We could have won by even more goals. 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'," he added. "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."