|
Thursday June 19th - 1:00PM | ||
| vs | ENGLAND | ||
| FIFA RANKING 6 | FIFA RANKING 11 | ||
 |
 |
||
| HOW THEY QUALIFIED |
|||
| URUGUAY Buoyed by their fourth place finish at South Africa 2010 and their Copa America triumph a year later, La Celeste went into the South American qualifying competition for Brazil 2014 as firm favourites to progress. Their plans went awry in 2012, however, when they collected just two points out of a possible 18. The Uruguayans recovered their poise just in time, eventually edging into fifth and booking a place in the intercontinental play-offs for the fourth time in a row. Waiting for them there were Jordan, who were no match for Uruguay in the first leg in Amman, which ended in a 5-0 win for the visitors. Defending that lead comfortably in a goalless draw back in Montevideo, the Uruguayans made sure of their berth in Brazil. ENGLAND England finished top of European Group H to reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ after securing victory on the final matchday against Poland, banishing the demons of four decades earlier when a draw against the same opponents saw the Three Lions miss out on the 1974 tournament. The road to Brazil 2014 was not as smooth as their campaign to reach South Africa, where they won nine of their ten matches on the way to the 2010 finals. Even though Roy Hodgson guided his side to an undefeated campaign, automatic qualification evaded England until the final match at Wembley. Two draws against closest rivals Ukraine, as well as stalemates in Warsaw and Podogorica, left England fans nervous until captain Steven Gerrard put the home match against Poland beyond doubt with a late goal to double his side's advantage and seal qualification. |
|||
RECENT RESULTS |
|||
| URUGUAY | ENGLAND | ||
| 15/10/13 - URUGUAY 3-2 ARGENTINA 11/10/13 - ECUADOR 1-0 URUGUAY 10/09/13 - URUGUAY 2-0 COLUMBIA |
15/10/14 - ENGLAND 2-0 POLAND 11/10/13 - ENGLAND 4-1 MONTENEGRO 10/09/13 - UKRAINE 0-0 ENGLAND |
||
| PLAYERS TO WATCH | |||
| URUGUAY Strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani have become the standard bearers for Uruguayan football and the national team over the last couple of years. The Liverpool man ended the South American preliminaries as the leading scorer with 11 goals, and was the second most-used player by coach Oscar Tabarez. The deadly duo have plenty of ballast behind them, with the vastly experienced Diego Lugano directing rearguard operations with aplomb, and Fernando Muslera providing a safe pair of hands between the posts. Even so, after an often-troubled qualifying campaign El Maestro Tabarez will no doubt be looking to shuffle his pack and build up some momentum ahead of Brazil 2014. |
|||
| ENGLAND Wayne Rooney remains England’s greatest talent and his seven goals in six World Cup qualifying starts underlined his importance to Roy Hodgson's side. In midfield, Gerrard and Frank Lampard provide experience and creativity while young guns Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andros Townsend highlight the Three Lions' attacking flair for the future. Danny Welbeck came into his own during qualification, scoring four goals on the way to the finals, while Daniel Sturridge's emergence as one of the English Premier League's top forwards can only bolster Roy Hodgson's attacking options for Brazil. |
|||
|
BACK TO MATCH CALENDAR > | ||
_sm.jpg)