There is less than a month to go before the 2018 World Cup kicks off and we continue with our running series, taking a look at each of the 32 competing nations in the build up.
Having already delved into Russia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, now it’s time to conclude Group A with Uruguay.
Prior to this summer, Uruguay needed to come through the play-offs to qualify for each of the last four World Cups, but guaranteed their place in Russia this time around by finishing second, behind Brazil, in the CONMEBOL standings.
Uruguay’s undeniable strength is in attack. With Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez up front, Oscar Tabarez has at his disposable two of the best strikers in the world.
Cavani finished qualification as the top scorer in the CONMEBOL section (10 goals) but it’s hard to overlook Suarez as Uruguay’s main man this summer.
The Barcelona striker has arguably been one of, if not, the best No.9 in Europe since trading Liverpool for the Camp Nou in 2014. Despite dipping out of form in patches during that time, Suarez has still netted 110 goals in 129 league appearances.
Suarez is Uruguay’s all-time leading goalscorer (50 goals) and will be the fourth highest scorer in international football on display at the 2018 World Cup, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Robert Lewandowski.
While all of the focus will be on Uruguay’s attacking options, there will also be a lot of interest in Sampdoria midfielder Lucas Torreira, who will make his major tournament debut this summer.
Torreira only made his Uruguay debut in March but looks nailed on to make Tabarez’s 23-man World Cup squad. The 22-year-old has already been linked with a summer move to Juventus this season and the Serie A champions will not be the only European club monitoring his performances in Russia.
The pint-sized midfielder has impressed for Sampdoria this season, weighing in with four goals and one assist for the Italian side, but it’s his defensive work that makes him stand out.
Despite his stature, only Brazilian duo Lucas Leiva and Allan (106) have made more tackles than Torreira (101) in Serie A this season. In fact, only four players aged 23 and under in Europe’s top five leagues managed more than the Sampdoria starlet, who has won possession in the midfield third more times (167) than any other Serie A player this season.
With Atletico Madrid duo Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez at the heart of Uruguay’s defence and Torreira capable of acting as their midfield destroyer, it should free the likes of Cavani and Suarez to enable Uruguay go as far as they can in the tournament.
