Tho hosts face The Pharaohs on Wednesday morning at 04:00am AEST.

"I think this is the match that is going to decide who qualifies for the next round," Mourinho told the Russian television network RT.

"Normally, both of them would get three points against Saudi Arabia -I think Uruguay is a different level of experience and they are mentally ready for this level of competition. So this is a big match."

He also praised Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and added that Russia need to find a way to stop the Egyptian star because he "makes the difference" in games.

Mourinho has previously predicted that Russia will follow Uruguay through to the knockout rounds from Group A. Russia have never previously made it out of the group stages.