Was Uruguay the biggest ‘what if’ story of World Cup 2018? There were a few candidates for sure. But Oscar Tabarez’ team has every right to wonder.
At World Cup 2018 odds of 29.00, pre-tournament, the Charruas looked like excellent value as they breezed through Group A. It’s been 68 years since Uruguay won the World Cup and they might well have been thinking this was their biggest chance, but they won’t be the only team kicking themselves.
What about Spain? The 2010 champions never really got firing consistently after the shock dismissal of their coach two days before they kicked off. But they looked brilliant against Portugal before stuttering through their group and then failing to beat a limited Russia side, before losing in a penalty shootout.
England was 20 minutes away from a World Cup final for the first time since 1966, and had Golden Boot winner Harry Kane squared a simple pass to make it 2-0 against Croatia, rather than trying to score from a tight angle…who knows?
Even Japan may feel a case of ‘what ifs’ when they were so close to pulling off one of the biggest shocks in World Cup 2018 results, if not the biggest. 2-0 up against Belgium with time running out in the Round of 16 clash, they were hit by a wave of Red Devilment and eventually lost to the last kick of the game.
World Class at both business ends
But Uruguay hadn’t lost their coach and they had something England and Japan certainly didn’t; world-class pairings at either end of the pitch.
Our SBOBET tips included a very close look at Uruguay before a ball was kicked and we focused on the most dangerous strike partnership in the competition. Edinson Cavani top scored in Ligue 1 last season and was in sensational form in the South American qualifiers, and in Barca’s Luis Suarez he had an equally lethal partner.
Only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored more goals in La Liga than Suarez last season, and he’s a brilliant supplier as well as a scorer. The telepathy and killer instinct of this frightening partnership was on show in the Round of 16 win over Portugal when the two combined beautifully before Cavani finished for his first of two goals.
At the other end of the pitch Diego Godin pushed France’s Raphael Varane close for the mantle of best defender in Russia, and alongside him was young Jose Gimenez, as he had been at Atletico Madrid in a season in which the La Liga runners-up conceded a miserly 22 goals. And Gimenez popped up to score the late winner in Uruguay’s opener against Egypt with a great header.
Partnerships up and down the pitch make for a successful team and Uruguay had two of the very best.
Beat France and win the Cup?
At 71 Oscar Tabarez was the second oldest coach at Russia 2018. Suffering from a debilitating illness he always cut a dignified figure, bringing a more cultured edge to his Uruguay team than some of those from the past. Yes, they could mix it of course and there was steel running throughout the team but, at times, they played beautiful football.
In his 12 years in charge, he has guided this small South American nation, with a population of little over three million to great heights, reaching the World Cup semi-final in 2010 and winning the Copa America in 2011. He has seen his team come of age but has also introduced young talent, epitomised by 20-year-old Juve midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur who is tough in the tackle but can find his front two with an array of great passing skills.
Did he think his team was good enough to win Russia 2018? Well, they glided into the knockout phases, winning all three without conceding a goal and then eclipsed Ronaldo and a dangerous Portugal side to reach the quarters.
They had the better of much of the first half in their clash with France and, of course, there’s no disgrace in losing to the eventual winners. The Charruas were well in the game until midway through the second half and you have to feel sorry for keeper
Fernando Muslera. Antoine Griezmann fired a hopeful shot from distance straight at him but the poor goalie somehow spilled the ball into the net.
Had they beaten France, they would have faced Belgium, richly talented but famous for choking, and then Croatia, an equally small nation but with a modest track record.
You never know. It might just have been Uruguay’s year, but if I was Muslera I probably wouldn’t think about it too much.
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