It has been 68 years since Uruguay won the FIFA World Cup. They will hope to end that drought in Russia this 2018.
Winners of the inaugural World Cup in 1930, Uruguay have long been a powerhouse nation in world football. They may be 17th in the rankings currently, but they were up as high as second back in 2011.
Despite their history, however, they are considered outsiders among the likely winners of the big dance. And certainly, they have a lot of work to do to prove that they can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Germany, Brazil, Spain, France and Argentina—the favourites to lift the trophy in Moscow come July.
With the FIFA 2018 event less than 20 days away, we present four burning questions for Uruguay, the answers to which could decide their fate in the grandest competition in the sport.
Can Luis Suarez rediscover his form and uhm, keep his teeth to himself?
No words can describe the value of Luis Suarez to the team. He is undoubtedly the nation’s best scorer, but they need him to be at his best and to keep his antics to himself in the competition.
Everybody knows Suarez’ history in the event. Perhaps, he is best remembered for his actions in the 2014 World Cup when he bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. It was an act that launched a thousand jokes about his teeth, but all the fun stuff aside, that didn’t help his team as he was suspended for nine matches due to that incident.
With Suarez absent, the Uruguayans eventually fell to Colombia in the Round of 16, proof of how crucial the skilful and dynamic No.9 was to the team.
Uruguay can’t afford to lose him again, not now that he’s 31 years old and moving past his prime. It’s probably the last time that he’ll be at his peak.
Sure enough, La Celeste also need the Salto-born player to replicate his club form in the international competition. While Suarez finished the 2017/18 La Liga season with 25 goals and 12 assists for Barcelona, those numbers were far from his five markers for Uruguay in the South America World Cup qualifiers.
Can Edinson Cavani remain as deadly as he was in qualifying?
Every Batman needs a Robin, and Edinson Cavani must fill that secondary role like the way he did in their qualifying campaign.
Suarez will always be the main act. He’s the country’s all-time leading scorer after all. Nonetheless, Cavani’s role is just equally important especially in a tournament where all teams boast top-level talent and quality.
The PSG man was on fire throughout the season, finishing as Ligue 1’s top-scorer with 28 goals. Furthermore, his 10 goals in qualifying are the most in the contest, well ahead of Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Chile’s Alexis Sanchez and Brazil’s Gabriel Jesus who had seven each.
It remains to be seen if Cavani can keep that excellent form in Russia where the level of competition is unlike anything they have experienced in the past four years. However, everything looks great for Uruguay so far as the Paris-based striker has not shown any signs of slowing down.
Who among the youngsters will shine the most?
Uruguay boast a solid mix of veteran and young talent, and it will be interesting to see who among their youngsters will shine the most.
Of course, the easy pick would be the phenomenal 19-year-old midfielder Federico Valverde who has cemented his place in the country’s First XI with a string of impressive displays. There’s also Juventus’ Rodrigo Bentancur, Boca Juniors’ Nahitan Nandez and Atletico Madrid’s Jose Maria Gimenez who have proven to coach Oscar Tabarez their starting quality.
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And who could forget about Celta Vigo frontman Maxi Gomez? Coming off an impressive 17-goal La Liga season, the 21-year-old is more than capable of pulling off a James Rodriguez-esque performance if given a chance.
Injecting youth into the squad shows that the team has its eyes on the future. But while that may be the case, it will be important for them to see the young guns make an impact now.
How will they fare in Group A, against Egypt?
Anything can happen in the World Cup, so while Uruguay are the favourites to top Group A, how they will perform in the actual games remains a big question mark.
Their qualifying campaign was far from smooth sailing. One could argue that Uruguay finished second behind Brazil while scoring the second highest number of goals (32), but it’s worth noting that they won just twice in their last seven qualifiers.
Moreover, their opening match with Egypt is one to watch. The Pharaohs appear to pose the biggest threat to the Sky Blue’s quest for dominance in their group; and if Egyptian star Mo Salah recovers in time, Uruguay could be in trouble if they don’t play up to their potential.
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