Uruguay
Uruguay stumbled to an opening game draw with Saudi Arabia but it could quite easily have been a defeat, they will have to improve greatly if they are to make any kind of impact at this world cup. Marcelo Bielsa has come under fire from ex Uruguay players on numerous occasions during his tenure and there were once again murmours of discontent once again after the match.
One thing Marcelo Bielsa is however is defiant, and as we have seen thoughout his coaching career he will stick to his guns and do it his own way. His team just did not get going against Sauid Arabia but facing a Cape Verde side that have had nothing but praise could be just what this Uruguayan side need right now.
It may well be that Uruguay were just underdone in the opening game, Bielsa chose not to have any warm-up friendlies and it might have shown. They will head into this Cape Verde match as big favourites.
Injuries & Team News
It will be 4-4-2 as usual for Bielsa and Darwin Nunez is expected to once again lead the line, that is despite being substituted at half-time last time out. To be fair to Nunez that was his first football since March through injury.
One positional change that might be made is at left-back where Matias Vina didn’t perform very well against Saudi Arabia and he could be replaced by Real Salt Lake player Juan Sanabria.
Maxi Araujo has enjoyed a really good season at Sporting CP and he might well get a big move after the tournament and he did himself no harm in last weeks draw with Saudi by scoring the Equaliser and looking by far the best of a poor bunch of Uruguayans on the pitch.
His namesake Ronald Araujo is again very doubtful having missed the opener.
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 1-1 vs Saudi Arabia | W D L D D D |
Predicted Line-Up
Uruguay (4-4-2):
Muslera; Varela, Cáceres, Olivera, Sanabria; Valverde, Ugarte, Bentancur, Araújo; Viñas, Núñez.
Cape Verde
Cape Verde will once again be at the centre of the football universe on Sunday when they face another former World Champion in Uruguay on the back of the historic 0-0 draw with 2010 World Champions Spain last week in Atlanta.
Much has been made of Spain and how they failed to deliver but credit must be given to Cape Verde for the way they battled for the full 90 minutes. There was some heroic performances from Diney and Roberto Lopes but the star of the show was goalkeeper Vozinha, his life changed overnight.
Confidence was already high following an impressive friendly win over Serbia prior to the World Cup but this will have sent confidence into orbit. Should they pick up yet another unlikely point we could be talking about the small african nation qualifying for the knockout stages !!
Injuries & Team News
It would be very harsh to change the team that drew with Spain but that is a real possibility with Villarreal defender Logan Costa now fit to play his part at this world cup and he is widely regarded as the best player . He could take the place of Diney
The most recognisable man at the World Cup right now is once again expected to start in goal for Cape Verde, The story of Vozinha rolls on, he started the tournament with 65k followers on social media, one game later he now has 6 million !!!
Although Vozinha has had all the media attention on him another player that enhanced his reputation was Dailon Livramento, he spent last season on loan at Casa Pia in Portugal and he will again start in the attack.
Manager Bubista isnt expected to make any other changes except for if he brings Costa back in
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 0-0 vs Spain | L L W W W D |
Predicted Line-Up
Cabo Verde (4-1-4-1):
Vozinha; Moreira, Lopes, Borges, S. Cabral; Pina; Mendes, L. Duarte, Monteiro, J. Cabral; Livramento.
Betting Odds
| Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Uruguay Win | 8/13 – (1.73) | Grand Ivy |
| Draw | 10/3 – (4.33) | Dream Vegas |
| Cape Verde Win | 8/1 – (9.00) | 247Bet |
Prediction
Uruguay 3-0 Cape Verde
We would all like to see Cape Verde provide another shock but it is highly unlikely. The surprise factor has now gone and who knows what last week took out of them both mentally and physically. Uruguay to win this comfortably.