The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group A fixture between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. The game kicks off on the 21st of June at 1:00 AM AEST. It will be broadcast live by SBS, who now have the rights to all remaining group stage matches.
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Uruguay
- FIFA World Rank: 14
- Elo Rating: 12
- Qualifying: Second place in the CONMEBOL qualifiers with a 9-4-5 record.
Squad:
- Coach: Óscar Tabárez
- Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Martin Silva (Vasco da Gama), Martin Campana (Independiente)
- Defenders: Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Sebastian Coates (Sporting Lisbon), Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Maximiliano Pereira (FC Porto), Gaston Silva (Independiente), Martin Caceres (Lazio), Guillermo Varela (Penarol)
- Midfielders: Nahitan Nandez (Boca Juniors), Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria), Matias Vecino (Inter Milan), Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus), Carlos Sanchez (Monterrey), Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Cruzeiro), Diego Laxalt (Genoa), Cristian Rodriguez
- Forwards: Cristhian Stuani (Girona), Maximiliano Gomez (Celta Vigo), Edinson Cavani (PSG), Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Recent results:
- Egypt 0 – 1 Uruguay
15/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Uruguay 3 – 0 Uzbekistan
07/06/2018
Friendly, played in Uruguay - Wales 0 – 1 Uruguay
26/03/2018
Friendly, played in China - Uruguay 2 – 0 Czech Republic
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in China - Austria 2 – 1 Uruguay
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in Austria - Poland 0 – 0 Uruguay
10/11/2017
Friendly, played in Poland - Uruguay 4 – 2 Bolivia
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Uruguay - Venezuela 0 – 0 Uruguay
05/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Venezuela - Paraguay 1 – 2 Uruguay
05/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Paraguay - Uruguay 0 – 0 Argentina
31/08/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Uruguay - Italy 3 – 0 Uruguay
07/06/2017
Friendly, played in France - Ireland 3 – 1 Uruguay
04/06/2017
Friendly, played in Ireland
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 21-9-13
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 39-4
- O/U 1.5 record: 28-15
- O/U 2.5 record: 23-20
- O/U 3.5 record: 10-33
- O/U 4.5 record: 4-39
- O/U 5.5 record: 3-40
- Wins
- Total wins: 21
- Won by 1 goal: 10
- Won by 2 goals: 3
- Won by 3 goals: 6
- Won by 4 goals: 2
- Won by 5 goals: 0
- Won by 5+ goals: 0
- Won to nil 16
- Losses
- Total losses: 13
- Lost by 1 goal: 7
- Lost by 2 goals: 4
- Lost by 3 goals: 2
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 6
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 43
- Clean Sheets: 20
- Held Scoreless: 10
- Both Teams Scored: 17
Saudi Arabia
- FIFA World Rank: 67
- Elo Rating: 63
- Qualifying: Runners up in Group B with a 6-1-3 record in the AFC Third Round.
Squad:
- Coach: Juan Antonio Pizzi (Spain)
- Goalkeepers: Yasser al-Mosaileem (Al-Ahli), Abdullah al-Mayouf (Al-Hilal), Mohammed al-Owais (Al-Ahli)
- Defenders: Mansour al-Harbi (Al-Ahli), Yasser al-Shahrani (Al-Hilal), Osama Hawsawi (Al-Hilal), Omar Hawsawi (Al-Nassr), Motaz Hawsawi (Al-Ahli), Ali al-Bulayhi (Al-Hilal), Mohammed al-Burayk (Al-Hilal)
- Midfielders: Abdulla Otayf (Al-Hilal), Salman al-Faraj (Al-Hilal), Mohammed Kanno (Al-Hilal), Abdullah al-Khaibari (Al-Shabab), Hussein al-Moqahwi (Al-Ahli), Abdulmalik al-Khaibari (Al-Hilal), Hattan Bahebri (Al Shabab), Salem al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal), Taisir al-Jassim (
- Forwards: Mohannad Assiri (Al-Ahli), Mohammed al-Sahlawi (Al-Nassr)
Recent results:
- Russia 5 – 0 Saudi Arabia
14/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Germany 2 – 1 Saudi Arabia
08/06/2018
Friendly, played in Germany - Saudi Arabia 0 – 3 Peru
03/06/2018
Friendly, played in Switzerland - Italy 2 – 1 Saudi Arabia
28/05/2018
Friendly, played in Switzerland - Saudi Arabia 2 – 0 Greece
15/05/2018
Friendly, played in Spain - Algeria 0 – 2 Saudi Arabia
09/05/2018
Friendly, played in Spain - Belgium 4 – 0 Saudi Arabia
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Belgium - Ukraine 1 – 1 Saudi Arabia
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in Spain - Iraq 4 – 1 Saudi Arabia
28/02/2018
Friendly, played in Iraq - Saudi Arabia 3 – 0 Moldova
26/02/2018
Friendly, played in Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia 0 – 2 Oman
28/12/2017
Friendly, played in Kuwait - United Arab Emirates 0 – 0 Saudi Arabia
25/12/2017
Friendly, played in Kuwait
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 25-8-19
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 50-2
- O/U 1.5 record: 44-8
- O/U 2.5 record: 33-19
- O/U 3.5 record: 16-36
- O/U 4.5 record: 12-40
- O/U 5.5 record: 4-48
- Wins
- Total wins: 25
- Won by 1 goal: 10
- Won by 2 goals: 4
- Won by 3 goals: 7
- Won by 4 goals: 1
- Won by 5 goals: 1
- Won by 5+ goals: 2
- Won to nil 16
- Losses
- Total losses: 19
- Lost by 1 goal: 9
- Lost by 2 goals: 3
- Lost by 3 goals: 5
- Lost by 4 goals: 1
- Lost by 5 goals: 1
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 9
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 52
- Clean Sheets: 18
- Held Scoreless: 11
- Both Teams Scored: 25
Commentary
Uruguay started their campaign by labouring to a 1-0 win over Egypt. Centre-back Jose Maria Gimenez’s late goal secured the win, much to the relief of Luis Suarez, who failed to take his chances. They dominated the game but were found lacking in the final third. Nevertheless, Uruguay got the win they needed so their World Cup campaign remains on track. A win here would give them a spot in the Final 16. Given the obvious quality of Luis Suarez (51 goals in 99 games) and Edinson Cavani (42 goals in 101 games), you’d expect Uruguay’s offence to improve upon their display last week. All the numbers point to Uruguay winning this clash. Uruguay enter this fixture having won each of their last four games to nil. They’ve only lost one of their last ten games and have lost just one of their last nine World Cup group stage games (5-3-1). Uruguay have won five of their last six group stage games and have won each of their three previous World Cup fixtures against Asian opponents. In team news, veterans Cristian Rodriguez and Carlos Sanchez are expected to start after appearing from the bench against Egypt.
Saudi Arabia got their World Cup campaign off to the worst possible start by losing 5-0 to Russia. They failed to achieve a shot on target and looked awful defensively. Saudi Arabia parted ways with two coaches in the lead up to the tournament and it showed, with the side looking naive tactically. Their failed experiment of sending a number of players on loan to Spain also hasn’t helped, with a number of those players failing to get any minutes during the season. The defeat extends Saudi Arabia’s miserable record at the World Cup. You have to go back to 1994 for the last time they won a game at this tournament. Their eleven matches since then have been resulted 0-2-9. Saudi Arabia have kept just one clean sheet in their last 14 World Cup games, conceding 37 goals during that stretch. They have been held scoreless in eight of their last 10 World Cup fixtures. In team news, pundits predict that goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais will likely be replaced by Abdullah Al Mayouf. Striker Mohammad Al-Sahlawi was ineffective against Russia so he might lose his spot in favour of Muhannad Assiri, however Al-Sahlawi was prolific for Saudi Arabia in qualifying so management might keep the faith.
Betting
bet365 odds (subject to change):
Compare the latest bookmaker odds for Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia
It’s hard to find positives for Saudi Arabia in this spot. Uruguay managed to win their opening game despite not playing anywhere near their potential. The likes of Luis Suarez will be looking to make amends for that performance and they will most likely do so, at Saudi Arabia’s expense.
Betting tip: back Uruguay to win to nil at 1.76 (Betfair)
Notes
- FIFA World rankings are from the 7th of June and sourced from https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html
- The World Football Elo Ratings are from the 11th of June and are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Dr. Arpad Elo. This system is used by the international chess federation to rate chess players and is considered by many to be a superior rating tool to the one used by FIFA. The ratings have been sourced from https://www.eloratings.net/.
- Squad lists sourced from http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/11374464/every-world-cup-squad-listed-argentina-brazil-russia-and-more