World Cup Soccer 2010: Uruguay vs. South Korea Preview
The group stage for South Africa 2010 has come to a close and it’s time for the real battle to begin. It’s a stage where only the fittest can survive where second chances dry up. Saturday would mark the day when the knockout stage begins.
The first game between Uruguay and South Korea will kick-off the round of 16. Both teams represent different continents and employ very different styles of play. Uruguay plays in typical South American style with their flashy flamboyant football. On the contrary, South Korea relies on man-to-man passing with short and incisive passes. The Asians come out with a game plan in their minds and try to stick to it.
Both these teams have met each other only once in a World Cup fixture which was played some two decades ago in Italia 1990. Though it wasn’t played in the knockout round, but the match was still a winner-take-all encounter. It was the final game in the group stages and the winner was meant to go to the next round. Uruguay won that day with an injury time winner from Daniel Fonseca.
Interestingly, Uruguay’s manager Oscar Taburez was in-charge of the team back then. After a break, Oscar came back for a second spell in 2006 after being frustrated by Uruguay’s inability to win a World Cup. The two-time World Cup champions have not made it to the quarter-final stages since 1970 when they were beaten in the semi-finals.
Uruguay has been a different side in South Africa 2010. Quite uncharacteristically, they have come out with a game plan of not to concede a goal at all costs, while depending heavily on their marksman Diego Forlan. The striker, quite recently led his club Athletico Madrid to Europa League glory in the last season. And the striker has responded by scoring 3 goals in the World Cup so far.
On the contrary, North Korea have impressed with their discipline and accurate passing. Their defence has been a worry, as six goals have been scored against them. Ahead of the game, both teams did not get a chance to practice on the pitch which was severely damaged by heavy rains on Wednesday. Uruguay is expected to start with the same eleven that defeated Mexico in their last group game. However, the coach may opt for Diego Godin in defence by replacing Mauricio Victorino. If Victorino gets another yellow, he will miss the next match if Uruguay moves ahead in the tournament.
South Korean coach Huh Jung-moo is likely to bench fullback Cha Du-Ri, who was responsible for a goal against Nigeria, and Kim Dong-Jin may step-in to replace him. Korea also has a list of players who are just one booking away from match suspensions. The list includes Yeom Ki-Hun, Lee Chung-Yong and Kim Nam-Il. Both teams have met each other on five different occasions in total. Uruguay has won 4 games while one ended in a stalemate. South Korea may take this opportunity to set the record straight.
Statistics support Uruguay as they have not conceded a goal in the group stages in South Africa 2010 – a feat that they have never been able to achieve in World Cup history. On the other hand, Uruguay is coming into today’s match with an undefeated record in the last 5 World Cup games. They drew their last two matches in the 2002 World Cup. In the last two instances when Uruguay made it to the final 16, they did not manage to score. Uruguay lost to Argentina in 1986 and Italy in 1990.
South Korea has some interesting stats to support them too. This is the second time that they have made it to the final 16 – they achieved it on home soil in 2002. However, all these statistics will go out of the window when action begins on Saturday. Odds definitely go in favour of Uruguay to win the match, but the Koreans may have a trick or two up their sleeves.
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