Don’t look now, however the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which takes place in Qatar, is lower than a month away. And judging by the percentages, it’s anyone’s guess who will carry the Jules Rimet Trophy on Dec. 18.
Oddsmakers have put in Brazil because the +400 favourite, however the five-time winners have loads of firm on the high of the board with eight different groups sitting between +600 and 12/1.
And whereas a powerful argument could be made for any of these groups to win the event, there's a sleeper hanging out at 50/1 that deserves your consideration.
Maybe no nation in worldwide soccer punches above its weight higher than Uruguay, a tiny nation of three.5 million folks sandwiched between Brazil (214 million) and Argentina (45.3 million). Regardless of being solely the Tenth-biggest nation in South America, Uruguay has gained 15 Copa America titles (tied for many with Argentina) and two World Cups (1930, 1950), making it one among six nations to have hoisted to Jules Rimet Trophy greater than as soon as.
It’s been some time since Uruguay has tasted glory — it’s final Copa America title got here in 2011 — and La Celeste’s historical past in World Cups over 70 years in the past is irrelevant to how they’ll carry out in 2022, however it does present that Uruguay has the pedigree and system in place to have success in these codecs. They’re doing one thing proper, as evidenced by a visit to the semifinals in 2010 and spectacular group-stage information in 2014 and 2018 (Uruguay gained 5 of six matches in that span, beating England, Italy and Portugal).
In 15 years underneath Oscar Tabarez, you knew what to anticipate from Uruguay. They might play a well-structured defensive fashion that was powerful to interrupt down and at all times made them a reside underdog.
Tabarez’s most well-liked tactic, which might see Uruguay pack the center of the pitch, dig in defensively and hope Diego Forlan, Edison Cavani or Luis Suarez would offer a second of magic, gave extra expert groups matches.
And that fashion of play match Uruguay. La Celeste didn’t have the expertise to trip with elite groups, so that they did the whole lot of their energy to show contests into coin flips.
However Tabarez is now gone and it looks like the energy of the Uruguay roster has shifted from the again of the pitch to the attacking third. Suarez and Cavani are nonetheless round and can play their components in Qatar, however Uruguay will look to Fede Valverde (Actual Madrid), Darwin Nunez (Liverpool) and Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham) to hold them to new heights, whereas nonetheless sustaining that dedication to being powerful to play towards.
On the sector, Uruguay ticks a few containers you search for in a sleeper guess. They’ve obtained expertise taking part in collectively and there’s loads of expertise on this roster, however what’s most interesting a couple of guess on La Celeste is their draw.
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Uruguay was drawn into Group H, which is able to pit them towards a susceptible favourite in Portugal and two groups that Uruguay ought to be capable of beat out, South Korea and Ghana.
And although Portugal is the favourite to win the group — which is vital as a result of the second-place group will possible face Brazil within the Spherical of 16 — that’s not a certain factor. The Portuguese are a high-ceiling, low-floor facet and there’s positively a world the place Uruguay is ready to end atop Group H and arrange a really winnable showdown with both Serbia, Switzerland or Cameroon.
Lengthy pictures don’t win the World Cup, however there have been loads of sleepers to make deep runs. Turkey (2002), South Korea (2002) and Uruguay (2010) all made it to the semifinals, whereas Croatia was the runner-up in 2018.
Sooner or later we’ll see a darkish horse win the World Cup and the wide-open nature of this discipline units up effectively for a guess on a gate-crasher.
And of the practical lengthy pictures, Uruguay ticks each field.
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