PREVIEW: Uruguay vs Costa Rica

Uruguay didn’t really have an easy trip to the World Cup. Uruguay was able to qualify for the tournament by crushing Jordan in the AFC-CONMEBOL playoff (5-0, 0-0), due to placing fifth during the CONMEBOL qualification process. It is no surprise that Uruguay had a rough time qualifying – coming up against Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Ecuador, all who boast highly talented players, and many whom have had great success in Europe.

However, when thinking of Uruguay, one player comes into everyone’s mind: Luis Suarez. When you think of Suarez, you start to call him jerk, cheater, and other various names because of the controversies he created during his career. But, let’s be real – Suarez can be a jerk, but nobody can deny his stats and his ability as a player. Out of 16 games during Uruguay’s qualifying campaign, Suarez himself scored 11 goals, lifting the team up from the mess that was their lackluster performances. Suarez also showed his explosive ability at Liverpool by recording 31 goals for this season, and successfully placed Liverpool in the Champions League after a long hiatus.

Uruguay’s first match is against Costa Rica. But when I observe the Costa Rican team, nothing but pity comes to my mind. I am not saying that Costa Rica is a bad team, but they are certainly out of luck because they are in a very tough group, comprised of not only Uruguay, but also England and Italy(dun, dun, dun) .  It’s like seeing Australia who will have to deal with Spain, the Netherlands, and Chile in Group B.

Joel Campbell and Costa Rica must play a perfect match to get any result against Uruguay. He will have to take his chances well if they are to have shot. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Costa Rica finished second in CONCACAF qualifying right behind the United States. During the qualification process, Costa Rica surprised fans by upsetting the USA 3-1 on 6 September and Mexico 2-1 on 15 October. By upsetting their larger rivals, Los Ticos proved themselves to be not an easy team to be beaten, but must be aware that their group contains teams that are in complete different level when compared to Mexico and the USA. These three teams in their group make CONCACAF qualification games look like amateur games, and Costa Rica must do their best in order to halt La Celeste in their first match in Brazil.

But,  here is good news for Costa Rica. Suarez recently injured his left knee on 11 May when he collided with Paul Dummett during Liverpool’s game against Newcastle United. Even though Suarez had a successful surgery in Montevideo, Suarez will sit out for the first match against Costa Rica. Costa Rica may feel relieved by his absence,  but  La Celeste still has dangerous players such as Diego Godin, Edinson Cavani, and Diego Forlan who will threaten their line. Even though Costa Rica will play Uruguay (without Suarez), odds are that Uruguay will win this game easily.

"Projected Starting XIUruguay: Fernando Muslera; Alvaro Pereira, Diego Godin, Diego Lugano, Maxi Pereira; Walter Gargano, Alvaro Gonzalez, Nicolas Lodeiro; Abel Hernandez, Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan.Costa Rica: Keylor Nevas; Junior Diaz, Michael Umana, Kendall Waston, Cristian Gamboa; Jose Miguel Cubero, Yeltsin Tejada, Celso Borges; Joel Campbell, Randall Brenes, Bryan Ruiz."

Key’s for Uruguay:

• Fill the void that Suarez left because of injury. Uruguay must use Forlan to fill in for Suarez for this game at least. On the bright side, Cavani is in great condition so Forlan will receive help from him.
• Use Nicolas Lodeiro to help out Forlan and Cavani as they fall back for support. Lodeiro will be a key player who will make an impact on the midfield with his not only stellar defense, but transitional play into the attack as well.
• Step up on the defense. On previous qualifying stages, Uruguay conceded a combined 25 goals in just 16 games. Godin and Lugano help the defense out but have lost a step or two as they have aged, giving Joel Campbell and Bryan Ruiz an advantage. Using Sebastian Coates may be prudent as his younger legs may come in handy.

Key’s for Costa Rica

• Make sure their attack remains constant. Costa Rica has shown inconsistency in remaining as constant threat all match long, and they often regress as the match presses on.  Uruguay’s defense must definitely give them a hard time as the trio Campbell, Brenes, and Ruiz try to find the back of the net.
• Watch out for long balls and late goals. Costa Rica has shown to concede most of their goals during later stages of the second half by long balls started by their opposition in their third of the field. They have to watch out for Forlan and Cavani as they can tire out Costa Rica’s defense easily through their counterattacks.
• Play defensive against Uruguay. Costa Rica only allowed a couple of goals from outside the box over the past qualifying games, so denying access to the box and forcing Uruguay to shoot from distance could be key.

Key battles for this game will be:

• Edinson Cavani vs Junior Diaz – Cavani is known for his tireless work rate and ability to score impressive goals. As he worked with Zlatan Ibrahimovic at PSG, Cavani scored 16 goals during the 2013-2014 season. His swift counter attacks and ability to exploit defensive holes will give Los Ticos’ defense a tough time.  As Cavani out dribbles the defense and finds back of the net, Junior Diaz must make sure that the back line is steady enough to hold Cavani down. Since Diaz is both strong tackler and athletic defender, he will help Costa Rica to slow down Uruguay’s attack.
• Diego Lugano vs Bryan Ruiz – This is going to be an interesting showdown; both of them are captains for their national team. Watch out for Lugano because Lugano will fight for the ball once Costa Rica makes an attack. Although he doesn’t necessarily have refined techniques as a defender, his temperament and strength are the key for Uruguay’s defense. He will make sure that the team goes forward no matter what. Bryan Ruiz will probably act as a second striker and go up the pitch to pressure Uruguay’s defense.
• Diego Forlan vs Keylor Nevas – You cannot ignore the impact that Forlan brings to Uruguay. Forlan was voted as the best player of the 2010 Finals and won Europe’s Golden Boot twice – this will be his third and final World Cup and will want to be impressive each time he plays. Forlan boasts his talent in finishing the game by scoring from close in or outside range of the box. He will definitely be a good replacement for Suarez for a while. Keylor Nevas, the goalie for Costa Rica, must mark Forlan and Cavani’s attacks. Nevas is one of the best goalies in La Liga because he helped set up one of the best defensive lines in La Liga.  Nevas’ defense will definitely give Uruguay attackers hard time and will make sure that he will not concede goals to Uruguay

Can Bryan Ruiz make a big enough difference against Uruguay? Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Staff match predictions

• Young: 2-0 Uruguay. Forlan and Cavani are good enough to make easy work out of Costa Rica.
• Charles: 3-1 Uruguay. Not self explanatory as I see Cavani and Forlan scoring goals for La Celeste. But I will say that Costa Rica will have either Joel Campbell or Bryan Ruiz to score 1 goal against Uruguay because Uruguay’s defense is not stable enough.
• Drew: 3-1 Uruguay.  They will always have goals in them, even without Suarez available.  Costa Rica will do well to counter them, especially through the pace of Campbell and the trickery of Ruiz.  In the end though, Uruguay should see the match out comfortably and look to set themselves off well early in the tournament.