Scouting Uruguay

Whilst the talents of Brazil, Argentina, and Columbia have been garnering most of the attention, Uruguay go somewhat unnoticed amongst the South American teams. Their comparative lack of stars and depth compared to others has seen Uruguay often overlooked as a credible opposition. But should their star striker Luiz Suarez recover from surgery following a knee injury this week they could prove to be one of the tournament’s top attacking sides.

Predicted line-up (4-2-2-2)

—————————————————-Fernando Muslera————————————————————-

————————-Maxi Pereira, Diego Lugano, Diego Godin, Martin Caceres,—————————–

———————————Nicolas Lodeiro/Diego Perez, Egidio Arevalo,—————————————–

————————–Christian Stuani, ——————————–Cristian Rodriguez,—————————

———————————————-Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez

The Team

Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray): The Uruguay shot-stopper has a total of 13 clean sheets in all competitions and arrives at the World Cup having only achieved second in the league, and is all but nailed on at the back thanks to his experience at high levels of competition for both club and country.

Maxi Pereira (Benfica): Part of the title-winning Benfica defence, Maxi holds the right-back position as his own. With a massive 22 clean sheets in all competitions (including the lost penalty shootout against Sevilla in the Europa League final), we cannot expect the same level of resilience this campaign. Worryingly, Maxi avoided any official attacking returns, suggesting limited goal threat, and may have to rely on recovered balls.

Diego Lugano (West Bromwich Albion): Called in more for his experience than current form, Lugano only managed seven full appearances for the relegation-avoiding Albion. His long serving history for Uruguay may be the only reason he is in the side, but could see him competitively priced.

Diego Godin (Athletico Madrid): The mainstay in defence, Godin has been part of the title-winning Spanish side on all fronts. 25 clean sheets in all competitions, and five goals to add, we cannot expect him to deliver such a record for the World Cup. However, if you do choose a Uruguay defender, there is none more nailed on, with more goal threat, and is likely to be priced higher than the others.

Martin Caceres (Juventus): The versatile Juventus defender can play in any position at the back, dependant on who is available. Most likely to play at left-back, expect little attacking returns but consistent playing time.

Nicolas Lodeiro (Botafego)/ Diego Perez (Bologna): Neither are guaranteed game-time, but Uruguay lack significant quality in the middle of the park, their main weakness. Naturally an attacking midfielder, Lodeiro’s job is to start the attack, but due to his age, will unlikely see consistent minutes. The same goes for Perez, but being more defensively minded, may be utilized in harder games.

Egidio Arevalo (Morelia): Currently plying his trade in the Mexican League, Arevalo is a natural holding midfielder at heart (think the Uruguayan Lucas Leiva), and the mainstay in the Uruguay midfield. Expect zero attacking returns.

Christian Stuani (Espanyol): Another versatile player, Stuani can play in most forward positions, including the number 10 role, and even as a lone forward, but prefers playing on the right. Six goals and three assists over the season doesn’t impress as much, however. Worryingly, he appears to be gaining a reputation as the first of the front-four to be sacrificed for fresh legs.

Cristian Rodriguez (Athletico Madrid): Subject to reduced playing time as Atletico continued their winning ways, Rodriguez has to deal with displays off the bench, and plays on the left of the attacking midfield. A goal and assist is not indicative of returns, bearing in mind he only managed three starts throughout the entire season.

Edinson Cavani (Paris St-Germain): Despite being forced over to the right of the front-three at PSG, Cavani still continued his reputation as a natural goalscorer. 20 goals and two assists are still noteworthy, despite his less favoured position (he scored 29 goals as the lone forward for Napoli the year before). The joint forward role with Suarez will cause many a back-line havoc, and his aerial threat as well as ability on the ground will be key for Uruguay’s progression.

Luis Suarez (Liverpool): The 31-goal Premier League Golden boot owner comes to the tournament in excellent form (albeit slightly tailing off by the end of the season) and is the main man of the Uruguay team, let alone the attack. Not only part of an excellent forward partnership, Suarez is first in line for free-kicks and penalties, adding to his value. Likely to be expensive, and in a difficult group, many could avoid Suarez as an expensive forward option. Even though he has just undergone surgery on a knee injury picked up in training, the Liverpool man is confident he will be raring to go in time for the World Cup.

Options off the bench

Diego Forlan (Cereza Osaka): After suffering heartbreak in the last World Cup, South Africa’s player of the tournament began to swap clubs, working his way out of Atletico Madrid to Inter Milan, to Internacional, and finally to the Japanese league. Despite his age, he is still scoring goals for fun, and will most likely be used as an impact sub for a morale boost to the team.

Gaston Ramirez (Southampton): Despite minimal playing time, Ramirez makes the squad. Likely to replace the attacking midfielders around the hour mark in order to provide fresh legs for the team.

Walter Gargano (Parma): A holding midfielder through and through, Gargano could find himself in the starting 11 to provide stability over other aging midfield options.

The Opponents

Costa Rica: A likely source of points at both ends of the pitch, Costa Rica will struggle to contain Suarez and Cavani, whilst also have issues breaking down the experienced back line.

Italy: A defence that has played together both for club and country will be difficult to attack, unless they lose their heads. The midfield is likely to overrun Uruguay’s, Cavani being the likely man to drop back to help alleviate pressure. The Italian forwards may cause trouble for the comparatively slow defence.

England: Dependent on which England team turns up, this could go either way. The defence has been on the receiving end of Suarez before, and his English Liverpool team-mates could help nullify his threat. England may struggle to score many against Uruguay.

If I were a betting man…

Uruguay look set for a stern test to make it out of the group stages, most likely at the expense of either Italy or England. The midfield lacks athleticism and youth and is likely to be overrun, especially against opponents that pack the midfield (we’re looking at you, Italy). The forward line will trouble any defender, whilst their own defence may hold out, but a lack of quality in squad depth could spell trouble should any of their main protagonists become injured.

Prediction

Third in the group stages, second would be optimistic at the expense of an imploding Italy or an exhausted England.