Uruguay vs South Korea Prediction & Tips
Both hosts and winners of the inaugural 1930 World Cup, Uruguay have qualified for their fourth consecutive finals, and in each of their last three appearances they have advanced beyond the group stage. Confident in his team’s blend of youth and experience, coach Diego Alonso was bold about his goal in Qatar, saying “I and the players want to become world champions”!
The team is in good form, with the Celeste losing only once in 2022 (V7, E1), a surprise defeat in the friendly against Iran! But after finishing CONMEBOL qualifying on an upward trend, with four consecutive wins in which they conceded just one goal, Uruguay can dream of winning their third World Cup trophy in history and first in 72 years!
For South Korea it will be their tenth consecutive World Cup appearance, but they have only made it past the group stage twice, meaning expectations are perhaps lower than their opponents. An incredible fourth place at the World Cup on home soil in 2002 remains their greatest achievement – something Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-Min would like to repeat, as he is ready to “take his chances” and start as a starter despite his recent surgery.
With Son on board, South Korea booked their tickets to Qatar with a decent record in the last round of AFC preliminaries (V7, E2, Q1) after conceding the fewest goals (three). If their star player can’t recover in time for this match, the Taegeuk Warriors can at least be motivated by the fact that their national team has won three of their previous five World Cup debut matches (E1, Q1) without Son in the team!
Key Duel: Uruguay’s Luis Suárez will be looking forward to his fourth World Cup appearance. He scored twice in the last 16 when these two teams met in 2010! Trying to counter him will be defender Kim Min-jae, who has led Napoli to seven clean sheets in his 20 competitive appearances this season while scoring two headed goals.
Interesting stat: Uruguay conceded a goal in just two of their previous nine World Cup group stage matches, finishing the group without conceding a goal twice!
World Cup trivia: South Korea conceded the fastest goal in World Cup history when Turkey scored against them after just 10.8 seconds in 2002!
Uruguay – South Korea FREE TIPS
Uruguay – Win @ 1.75
