Maxi Pereira, seen here at the 2016 Copa America Centennario, will lead a veteran Uruguayan backline at the 2018 World Cup.
Population: 3.4 million
Capital: Montevideo
Team Colors: Blue and Black
How Qualified: 2nd in CONMEBOL Qualifying
Nickname: La Celeste
13th World Cup
Head Coach: Oscar Tabarez (URU)
Key Players: Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Edison Cavani (PSG), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Cristian Rodriguez (Peñarol)
Best Performance: Champions (1930, 1950)
Can they excel with Suarez and Cavani? There is a set goal to reach the semifinals like they did in 2010. Despite missing Luis Suarez for the first four matches and Edison Cavani for the first two, Uruguay qualified comfortably for Russia.
Both are back and Uruguay looks to go far in Russia. They have one of the best attacking partnerships in international play in Suarez and Cavani. Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez anchor one of the better defenses in South America.
It is in the midfield where there might be trouble. It is a revamped midfield that may pose some questions. Yes, there is Cristian Rodriguez, Gaston Ramirez, Carlos Sanchez, and Nicolas Lodeiro. The remainder is relatively inexperienced.
There’s also the questions of intensity and Luis Suarez at the World Cup. On the former, if there is not enough of that in La Celeste, they won’t go far. On the latter, if Luis does something to get himself suspended (again), Uruguay won’t go much further. His deliberate handball in 2010 (and subsequent missed penalty by Ghana) may have helped Uruguay to the semifinals, but they didn’t get to the final. His biting of Giorgio Chiellini got him a nine-match ban and Uruguay went out in the next match in the Round of 16.
Uruguay has the capability to go far in this tournament. It’s up to La Celeste to provide the intensity, the midfield to be up for the task, and for Luis Suarez not to get himself into trouble for that to happen.
Schedule:
June 15: vs. Egypt in Yekaterinburg (7am CT on FS1/Telemundo)
June 20: vs. Saudi Arabia in Rostov-on-Don (10am CT on FOX/Telemundo)
June 25: vs. Russia in Samara (9am CT on FOX/Telemundo)
Uruguay
November, 2022
January, 2022
October, 2018
2018 World Cup
October, 2018
September, 2018
