Uruguay: Crossing group stage is the bare minimum (Team Profile)

In the past 10 years, under coach Oscar Tabarez's leadership, the Uruguayan national football team have entered a stable and prosperous period.

Uruguay will face hosts Russia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia in Group A at the FIFA World Cup later this month, a relatively easy opening to the tournament for Tabarez's men, reports Xinhua news agency.

With two ace strikers Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani upfront and Diego Godin and Fernando Muslera at the back, getting out of their group is the bare minimum Uruguayan supporters will be hoping for.

In the qualifiers, Uruguay were promoted into the finals courtesy nine wins, four draws and five losses.

Playing a traditional 4-4-2, the combination of Suarez and Cavani is spectacular. However, the midfield is probably the one area of the park where the Uruguayans are vulnerable.

They quickly pass the ball to the strikers and rely on their abilities to deal with the rest of the equation. Cavani is Uruguay's most secure scoring weapon.

The PSG striker performed amazingly well in the South American qualifiers, scoring 10 goals on the way to taking his team to football's biggest showcase.

Unlike Cavani, Suarez is usually the creator. He provided seven assists over the course of the campaign. If both of them can stay healthy, Uruguay should not be afraid of any defence in the tournament.

Uruguay also have a hidden destabilising factor. Suarez's temper. At the 2014 South Africa World Cup, Suarez bit the shoulder of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini and got a suspension because of it. Without their star player, Uruguay stumbled out of the tournament.

--IANS

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