Dignitaries from all over the world will gather in Brazil in early December for the FIFA World Cup draw as the field of teams is divided into groups for next summer’s festivities. As part of its “32 teams in 32 days” series, SPORTSNET.CA will profile each of the nations set to compete at Brazil, leading up to the draw on Dec. 6.
What can Uruguay do for an encore? In 2010, La Celeste caught a lot of people off-guard with their magical run to the World Cup semifinals, where they lost to the Netherlands. Some called their fourth-place showing a fluke, but Uruguay followed that up by winning the 2011 Copa America title, reasserting itself as a world power in the global game, and not merely a side clinging to past glories and faded memories of World Cups won in 1930 and 1950. Don’t let their rather laboured qualifying campaign fool you—while Brazil and Argentina are still the superpowers in South America, Uruguay isn’t far behind, and Oscar Tabarez’s team is more than capable of another final four appearance at next summer’s tournament.
Programming alert: Watch the World Cup draw from Brazil on Dec. 6 live on all four main Sportsnet channels. Coverage begins at 10:30 am ET/7:30 am PT | TV schedule
How they got here: The South American qualifiers are a long and arduous slog—a two-year marathon that tests teams’ endurance. World Cup semifinalists in 2010, Uruguay was expected to claim one of the four automatic berths up for grabs in South America, and their strong start (three wins and two draws) suggested they’d qualify with ease. But a 4-0 loss in Colombia on matchday seven sent La Celeste into a bit of a tail spin, as they went on to drop points in each of their next five games. Lucky for them that Venezuela couldn’t take advantage, and they held on for fifth place in CONMEBOL. Lady luck shone on Uruguay even more when they were drawn against Jordan in the intercontinental playoffs. The Asian nation was duly dispatched 5-0 on aggregate, and Uruguay snuck into the World Cup.
Key match: Uruguay’s 5-0 home win over Jordan all but sealed their intercontinental playoff series and their eventual World Cup qualification. But it was their impressive 2-0 defeat of Colombia on the third-last match day in the marathon South American qualifying campaign that allowed them to stay ahead of Venezuela for fifth place and eventually claim the playoff spot.
Star player: Edinson Cavani has earned the nickname El Matador for good reason. The Uruguayan striker has a natural goal scorer’s instinct and goes in for the kill every time he gains sight of the opposition’s goal. PSG broke the bank to lure him away from Napoli this past summer, and Cavani had repaid the Ligue 1 club with nine goals in 13 league games, forming a deadly duo with fellow hit-man Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He’s also proven to be invaluable for Uruguay, bagging six goals in the South American qualifiers, and another in the intercontinental playoff series against Jordan. Bottom line: At 26 years old, Cavani is in the prime of his career and one of the most dangerous goal scorer’s in the game today.
Player on the bubble: Gaston Ramirez has played over 20 games for Uruguay at senior level, and represented his country at the 2012 London Olympics. At 22, the attacking midfielder is one of his nation’s brightest young players. But he hasn’t been getting much playing time this season with Southampton, and has fallen out with manager Mauricio Pochettino over his tactical approach that stresses a high-pressing approach when not in possession. Ramirez is pushing for a January transfer move back to Serie A with either Napoli or Inter Milan, and if he doesn’t get it, it’s difficult to see him figuring in Pochettino’s plans, thus hurting his chances of travelling to Brazil.
Team strengths: Uruguay knows how to score. They bagged 25 goals in the South American qualifiers, but what was most impressive was the way they spread it around. Luis Suarez (11 goals) and Edinson Cavani certainly led the charge, but Uruguay managed to get offensive production out of a number of other players, including Atletico Madrid’s Cristian Rodríguez, veteran Diego Forlan and Christian Stuani of Espanyol. Manager Oscar Tabarez has a wide variety of attacking options to choose from, which allows him to change formations at will, thus keeping opponents guessing.
Team weaknesses: Twenty-five goals conceded and only three clean sheets in 16 South American qualifying games suggests that Uruguay has serious issues in defence. Captain Diego Lugano, 33, has a lost a step and none of Diego Godin, Jorge Fucile, Maxi Pereria and Martin Caceras exactly inspire confidence. With manager Oscar Tabarez employing such an open and attacking style of play, Uruguay often leaves itself vulnerable and susceptible to being exploited at the back. Uruguay’s defence has to figure out a way to become greater than the sum of its collective parts—otherwise they’re going to have to rely on simply out-scoring opponents in order to win games.
World Cup record:
1930—Champions
1934 to 1938—Did not enter
1950—Champions
1954—Semifinals (fourth place)
1958—Did not qualify
1962—First round
1966—Quarter-finals
1970—Semifinals (fourth place)
1974—First round
1978 to 1982—Did not qualify
1986 to 1990—Second round
1994 to 1998—Did not qualify
2002—First round
2006—Did not qualify
2010—Semifinals (fourth place)
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