MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 5/15)
Josh Gross
Uruguay World Cup Team Preview
Uruguay
FIFA Ranking: 14
Manager: Diego Alonso
Federation: CONMEBOL
Group: Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana, South Korea
Odds to win World Cup: +3800, FanDuel
Odds to win Group H: +200, FanDuel
Odds to advance in Group H: -270, FanDuel
How did Uruguay qualify for the World Cup?
Uruguay finished third on the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table taking one of the automatic spots to Qatar. They had a mixed bag of results, though, throughout qualifying going 8-4-6 with a 0 goal differential.
Who is Uruguay’s most important player?
Darwin Nunez
Nunez has yet to show his true scoring ability for La Celeste with just three goals for the senior team in his career. However, the Liverpool attacker is rounding into form for the Reds now with six goals and two assists to his name this season. Nunez will be an important piece in Uruguay’s attack alongside Suarez and Cavani, who are both healthy and in form currently.
What are Uruguay’s strengths, weaknesses, style of play and form?
Uruguay are one of the dark horses to win this competition and always make their presence known on the big stage. They have strengths up and down the field, but their biggest strength will be their attacking ability. They have a good group of midfielders with Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Bentancur helping to feed the ball up to one of the better attacking units in the tournament.
Father Time might prove to be one of their downfalls as they will be relying on Suarez, Cavani, and Diego Godin who are all 35 years of age or older. However, if these Uruguayan legends can prove they are still world class footballers, Uruguay has enough youth to propel them to a deep run in the tournament.
Uruguay lost to Iran 1-0 in their first September warm-up game. They controlled most facets of the match but could not find the back of the net. They followed that game up with a 2-0 victory over a decent Canadian side. It should help Uruguay’s preparedness that both of their final games leading up to the tournament were against other teams good enough to make the field.
What is Uruguay’s World Cup Outlook?
As alluded to above, Uruguay have the talent and experience to stay alive in the World Cup. They are one of the favored sides to make it out of the group, and anything can happen after that. They will need stellar performances from their defense to stay in games, but I do not worry too much about them being able to find the back of the net. A healthy Uruguay squad is primed to make a run into the semifinals or even further.
Best Uruguay World Cup Bet
The best Uruguay bet pre-tournament is to win the group at +200 on FanDuel. I think they will turn in better performances than Portugal in this group and come out on top heading into the knockout stages.
Uruguay World Cup Roster
Goalkeepers: Sergio Rochet, Fernando Muslera, Sebastián Sosa
Defenders: Diego Godín, José María Giménez, Ronald Araujo, Sebastián Coates, Martín Cáceres, Mathiás Olivera, Guillermo Varela, José Luís Rodríguez, Matías Viña
Midfielders: Federico Valverde, Rodrigo Betancour, Matías Vecino, Lucas Torreira, Manuel Ugarte, Nicolás de la Cruz, Giorgian De Arrascaeta, Facundo Pellistri, Facundo Torres, Agustín Canobbio
Forwards: Luis Suárez, Darwin Núñez, Edinson Cavani, Maximiliano Gómez
Group A | Ecuador Senegal Netherlands Qatar
Group B | Iran Wales USA England
Group C | Mexico Saudi Arabia Poland Argentina
Group D | Tunisia Denmark Australia France
Group E | Japan Germany Costa Rica Spain
Group F | Croatia Morocco Canada Belgium
