Uruguay Can Excite but Won't Last Long in World Cup 2010

In the first of our profiles of all 32 qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup it’s only fitting that Al Dannity takes a look at the competition’s first ever winners Uruguay.

How they got to South Africa
For the third successive qualifying campaign Uruguay found itself in a playoff after the South American qualifiers for one of the last spots in the World Cup. Despite losing only 2 of 9 home games, Uruguay’s ugly road record proved costly. With only two victories away from their home turf, and costly home defeat to Argentina in the last round of qualifiers meant Uruguay failed to gain an automatic place in South Africa.

Instead a two-legged playoff with Costa Rica would decide their fate. In the first leg Uruguay overcame its poor road record to win 1-0 in San Jose. A nervy 1-1 draw followed in the second leg but it was enough to send Uruguay through to the 2010 World Cup Finals.

Who to watch
Diego Lugano, the man who got that crucial goal on the road against Costa Rica, is Uruguay’s captain and star player. The blonde defender will be unfamiliar to many readers as he plays in the Turkish League for Fenerbahce. While Lugano may not play in a high profile league, he reamains a feared centre-back who isn’t afraid to move up field and attack when the mood takes him.

While Lugano may be prone to going forward, it’s not out of necessity. Uruguay has a potent strike partnership in Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan. Suarez is currently starring for an Ajax team chasing the Dutch title and has aroused interest from Chelsea and Manchester United. The more experienced Forlan has, despite a poor spell at Old Trafford, proven himself as one of European Soccer’s top goalscorers, twice winning the European Golden Boot.

How they will perform
For a nation with two World Cup titles to its name, Uruguay is far from a power in World Soccer. Having won in 1930 and 1950, the South American nation has only progressed beyond the last 16 since 1970. Uruguay showed in their last World Cup appearance, in 2002, that on their day they can perform but even in that competition they failed to progress past the first round. I fully expect them to put in strong challenges against all three of their opponents but that doesn’t mean they will prevail. In a group this tight two teams still have to miss out. Uruguay will be the first to fall out of contention, probably before the final round of group games.

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