Thursday 002 World Cup Uruguay vs Ecuador
Match time: 2021-09-10 06:30
Brazil led the South American qualifiers with 21 points in seven matches. It is followed by Argentina (15 points), Ecuador (13 points), Uruguay (12 points), Colombia (10 points), Paraguay (8 points), Peru (8 points), Chile (7 points), Bolivia (6 points) and Venezuela (4 points). It should be reminded that the next eight teams have all played 8 games.
After an easy win over Bolivia on Sunday, Uruguay will seek to boost their World Cup standings on Thursday when they will face Ecuador at the Centennial Stadium in Montevideo at 7.30pm local time.
La Celeste beat Bolivia with ease on Sunday, just one point away from Thursday's away team, which drew 0-0 with Chile in Quito last game and is temporarily third in the South American zone for the World Cup qualifiers.
Uruguay is ready to take on Ecuador.
Game preview
While Uruguay started the World Cup qualifiers in a relatively impressive way, with their 2-1 win over Chile and a 3-0 win over Colombia, they then went through four winless games until the most recent one beat Bolivia 4-2. With this victory they made them in the top four.
Oscar Tavares' side also failed to impress at this summer's Copa America, beating Bolivia and Paraguay only in the group stage and being knocked out on penalties in the ensuing quarter-finals against Colombia.
After losing 1-0 to Argentina in their first qualifying match last year, Ecuador regained its grip with michael Estrada's goals against their opponents on Thursday with goals from Moises Kesedo and Gonzalo Plata.
On this basis, they beat Bolivia 3-2 away and Colombia 6-1 at home, but then entered the Copa America with losses to Brazil and Peru, ending the continental game with a 3 draw and 2 defeats.
Back at the World Preliminaries, the tricolors were back on the path to victory, with goals from Felix Torres and Estrada helping them beat Paraguay 2-0 at home.
They built on that last time with a positive result, a no-goal draw with Chile, holding third place with an impressive 13 points in the first eight games.
With the top four countries automatically qualifying for next year's World Cup, Gustavo Alfaro will be desperate for a positive result for his side to fend off the chasers as they look to enter Qatar after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Team News
Uruguay did not have star strikers Luis Suarez and Cavani in this tournament, who were the first and second top scorers in the history of the country respectively.
In the absence of Atletico and Manchester United stars, the likes of Augustin Alvarez and Maxi Gomez played an important role in attack, while de Alascaeta stepped up the attack in an impressive way, scoring three goals in two games.
In this game, coach Tavares will only make one change to the starting 11, that is, Matías Viña will return as the starting left-back, and Joaquín Picres, who did well in the last game, will go to the bench.
Diego Godin, who did not appear on the pitch on Tuesday, has recovered in time and will be one of the team's two centre-backs, paired as usual with former Atletico team-mate Jimenez. The pair made a total of 217 appearances for Uruguay.
Real Madrid player Federico Valverde, meanwhile, has made himself the star of Uruguay's engine room, and he will once again appear in midfield alongside Inter Milan's Matthias Besino and Juventus' Rodrigo Bentancourt.
Ecuadorian winger Angel Mena believes they have the ability to threaten Uruguay.
Ecuador will be suspended without winger Sonosa in Thursday's match, who was sent off for a red card in the match against Chile.
Top-up goalkeeper Hernán Galindes, who did not travel to Uruguay after an injury in the last game, will also be absent, while important midfielder Hegson Mendes is also sidelined with injury.
La Tri coach Gustavo Alfaro's main concerns are on the offensive line. So far, Alfaro has tried two different systems. But there is no doubt that captain Onna Valencia will lead again, who will continue to search for his 32nd international goal, thus overtaking Augustine Delgado to become the top scorer in the history of the country.
Angel Mena should once again play a key role on the right side, while the likes of Gonzalo Plata and Michael Estrada will compete to replace Sonosa.
Uruguay's possible starting line-up:
Muslera; Nandes, Jimenez, Godin, Viña; Valverde, Besino, Bentancourt; de Alaskaeta, Alvarez, Rodriguez
Ecuador's possible starting line-up:
Ortiz; Castillo, Torres, Impapier, Espinian; Gruesso, Moises Kecedo, Mena, João Rojas; Onna Valencia, Estrada.
forecast
Tavarez's side want to ensure they have a second consecutive win at home, which will also put them in third place in the table.
We think even without Suarez and Cavani, Tavares' side is quality enough to break Ecuador's tough backline, while DeAlascaeta could inspire his team-mates to work hard for another big win in a bid to reach next year's World Cup. Our tip: Uruguay 2-1 Ecuador