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Jeremy Perry
2018 World Cup Odds, Prediction: Egypt vs. Uruguay Betting
Uruguay are the favorites to win the group while Egypt are still waiting to see if Mohamed Salah will be ready for this game. His status is a big key to this contest.
World Cup 2018: Egypt vs. Uruguay Betting Analysis
Egypt and Uruguay have met just once before. Uruguay won a friendly match by a 2-0 score in August 2006. Egypt has three losses and a pair of draws in five games since the beginning of 2018. Uruguay has won both of their games in 2018. Sports Interaction’s World Cup match odds have Egypt as the underdog here, currently priced at +613, with Uruguay as the clear favorite at -205.
Egypt
Egypt is as close to a one-man show as any team in the World Cup. However, that one man might not make it on the pitch in Russia, even though he has been named to the team. Salah suffered a shoulder injury in the Champions League final and there is hope that he can play at some point in the tournament. However, it probably will not be this game as the aim for the final group-stage match against Saudi Arabia. By then, the damage might be done for Egypt, who did well to draw Colombia 0-0 in a recent friendly. They were then trounced 3-0 in Belgium, but that might have happened with Salah in the lineup.
There is not much outside of Salah, and Egypt will have to go to a compact formation that has many of their players sitting behind the ball. The onus will be on a player like Trezeguet to step up and handle some of the creativity that Egypt will need, and that is not likely.
Uruguay
Uruguay has had a quiet 2018 so far, beating the Czech Republic and Wales in the China Cup. They scored three goals in two games, with Edinson Cavani netting twice and Luis Suarez scoring the other goal. That is the story for Uruguay as they are going to largely depend on their world-class strikers to fire them to glory. Diego Godin, who scored in the lone meeting with Egypt in 2006, continues to marshal the back line in front of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. But there are still some questions in the middle of the pitch that Uruguay will have to answer.
Will manager Oscar Tabarez go with a younger lineup, such as 26-year-old Matias Vecino and 20-year-old Rodrigo Bentacur? Will he find a spot for 32-year-old Cristian Rodriguez? In a game like Egypt, it will be an important question to answer because Uruguay will need someone to unlock a defense that will be packed in and around the box. Otherwise, Suarez and Cavani will have to drop deeper to get the ball. Suarez is more capable of doing so, but Uruguay would like to have him as far up the pitch as possible. Still, with no Salah in the lineup for Egypt, Uruguay should not have much trouble getting three points to kick off the tournament. Uruguay’s World Cup odds have been improving, they are now priced at +3000 to win the championship.
