Our final look at Group D focuses on the South Americans, Uruguay. Oscar Tabarez’ troops could be prone to early investment given that they kick off their campaign against the underdogs, Costa Rica, on Saturday June 14 at 8pm, before squaring up to England five days later at 8pm and taking on Italy in their final group match on Tuesday June 24 at 5pm:
Road to Qualification
It’s fair to say the Uruguayans struggled to impress during qualifying. After winning three and drawing two of their opening five group fixtures, they subsequently embarked on a poor run of form that saw them finish fifth in the CONMEBOL group, behind Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador, scoring and conceding 25 goals. They then required a two-legged play-off against Jordan to ensure their progress and after winning the away match 5-0, registered a goalless home draw to clinch qualification.
Most Starts Fernando Muslera, Maxi Pereira, Arevalo Rios, Diego Godin, Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani (16), Diego Lugano (15), Diego Forlan (11), Martin Caceres, Alvaro Pereira, Diego Perez, Cristian Rodriguez (10)
Most Goals Luis Suarez (11), Edinson Cavani (6), C Rodriguez (3)
The Key Targets
Uruguay’s preparations have been hit hard by a knee injury to Luis Suarez. The Liverpool frontman underwent minor surgery last week after picking up the problem in training and with just under a fortnight remaining until the tournament kicks off, his chances of participating still remain uncertain. In terms of form, Tabarez’ side have played once since clinching qualification – a 1-1 draw in Austria back in March.
In defence, those 25 goals against over the qualifiers hardly instill much confidence, with a mere four clean sheets in 16 group games achieved. The conditions are likely to prove beneficial to the South Americans’ chances, though, and a win in the opener against Costa Rica, combined with an England v Italy stalemate, would allow Uruguay to set up on the counter over their remaining couple of matches.
At the back, right-back Maxi Pereira and centre-half pairing Diego Lugano and Diego Godin look nailed-on. Pereira’s forages down the flank could be key and boosts his prospects of earning attacking points, while the latter duo are likely to appeal in games that reward defensive contributions – those three will set you back 5.7, 5.6 and 5.4 in FantasyiTeam respectively.
Sitting in front of the back-four is Arevalo Rios. A tenacious ball-winner, his battling abilities are fundamental to Tabarez’ counter-attacking approach – a 4-4-2 formation would allow either Diego Perez or Nicolas Lodeiro the chance to start alongside Rios (available for 5.4 in in FantasyiTeam), though a switch to 4-3-3 would diminish both of the latter’s prospects of starts.
Further up the field, Cristian Rodriguez seems to have established himself as a regular over the qualifying rounds. Ousting Diego Forlan from the first XI, Rodriguez featured in the first-team in 10 of the final 13 matches on the left flank and found the net on three occasions. He started just twice for Atletico Madrid in La Liga this term but still looks set to retain his berth in Tabarez’ XI and comes in at 6.2 in FantasyiTeam.
Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani bring a real touch of class up front. Notching 17 times between them over the qualifiers, their ability in and around the box allows Tabarez’ side to sit back and rely on one, or both, snapping up chances – neither are cheap at 10.4 and 10.0 in in FantasyiTeam, and if Suarez fails to make it, there’s no doubt the Uruguayan’s chances will take a significant turn for the worse.
The Long Shots
Espanyol’s Christian Stuani seems to have made the right wing role his own in recent matches. The 27-year-old (coming in at 6.9 in FantasyiTeam) started each of the last three qualifying games and with a couple of sub appearances toward the end of the group phase, chipped in with two goals from just five matches. He was his side’s second top scorer in La Liga last time around, producing six goals in addition to a trio of assists.
Finally, a possible absence for Suarez could well see Diego Forlan return to the first-team fold. The veteran failed to start any of the final five matches across qualifying, suggesting he will mainly be utilised as a substitute towards the latter stages of matches but if the Liverpool striker is ruled out or continues to struggle, Forlan, who is priced at 7.8 in FantasyiTeam could be handed the spot alongside Cavani up top.
Further Analysis
Group A – Brazil,Cameroon, Croatia, Mexico
Group B – Australia, Chile, Holland, Spain
Group C – Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan
Group D – Costa Rica, England, Italy
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Scouting Uruguay by asquishypotato, Fantasy World Cup Early Options by Bowstring the Trout, The World Cup – The Players by the Sarjeant
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