Chile vs Uruguay
The World Cup 2022 South American qualifiers are coming to a close, with one matter left to resolve and the Chile-Uruguay match will play a big part in the climax.
Uruguay have booked their place and their hosts are still hoping they can join them, but they come into the game on the back of a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Brazil.
Meanwhile, Uruguay squeezed past Peru as Giorgan de Arrascaeta scored the only goal of the game to take his country up to 25 points, in fourth place and level on points with Ecuador in third.
La Roja can finish fifth and earn a play-off place if they beat Uruguay and results elsewhere go their way, and that means we’re going to see all guns blazing at the Estadio San Carlos on Wednesday.
Talking Points
Chile hanging on by a thread
La Roja’s chances of jumping from seventh to fifth are slim, and their fans will know that so the atmosphere in the Stadium will be tense. They need to pass both Peru, who play eighth-placed Paraguay, and Colombia, who are away to basement-dwelling Venezuela.
You would expect one of those two teams to win, but head coach Martin Lasarte will tell his players to concentrate on the things they can influence. And he has a team stacked with experience, skippered by 38-year-old Real Betis keeper Claudio Bravo.
Chile is a team of fighters, epitomized by Inter Milan’s’ midfield enforcer Arturo Vidal, who at 34 years of age is still dominating games and has contributed four crucial goals to La Roja’s campaign.
Alongside him, former Fiorentina star Erick Pulgar, now at Galatasaray, has accumulated six yellow cards and scored three goals and this makes a fearsome pair in the middle of the park.
Meanwhile, Vidal’s Inter team-mate, 33-year-old Alexis Sanchez, is top scorer with five goals and is Chile’s best chance of breaking down a tough Uruguay defence. Young Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton also has three goals and he’ll be hopeful of making a contribution on Wednesday.
Whether La Roja can do this remains to be seen, but theWorld Cup 2022 highlights of this match will be well worth watching!
Uruguay thanking their lucky stars
La Celeste’s win over Peru in Monteviedo, coupled with Chile’s demise in Brazil, was enough to see Diego Alonso’s men on the way to Qatar. That made it three wins on the bounce, but they had more than a slice of luck when they escaped their match with Peru with all three points.
Los Incas were furious after being denied what looked like a clear goal in time added on, and without the aid of VAR they were left at the mercy of the on-field officials who, it appeared, got it badly wrong.
When Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet was caught off his line by a mishit cross from Miguel Trauco, he back peddled to catch the ball but had to steady himself with a few more steps, and video footage seemed to show he carried the ball over the goal-line.
The Brazilian referee and his linesman didn’t see the ball cross the line and waved play on as the Peru players protested. Moments later, La Celeste fans were celebrating their qualification. You take your chances in this game and you can’t blame Uruguay, who have worked hard to take their place in Qatar.
The visitors have their talisman in the shape of the evergreen Luis Suarez, who has seven goals in the campaign and is continuing to thrive since his move to Atletico Madrid. Los Rojiblancos are in the Champions League quarter-finals and Suarez continues to be one of the best strikers in European and world football.
In midfield, De Arrascaeta now has five goals and he’ll line up next to 24-year-old Rodrigo Bentancur, who has settled well at Spurs, and these two will have a busy night up against Vidal and Pulgar.
History
The head-to-head have been well contested over the past 15 meetings, with Uruguay edging it at six wins to four and there have been five draws since 2003.
Uruguay won the return match 2-1 in a tight affair when Maxi Gomez scored a late winner after Sanchez had equalised Suarez’ opener.
The two nations also met last June and played out a 1-1 draw; so we can expect another ding dong battle at the Estadio San Carlos.
Betting Tip
The World Cup 2022 betting odds place the hosts as favourites at a SBOTOP price of 2.22, while Uruguay are at 2.97 and the draw is 3.11. It’s going to be a fascinating battle, and while Chile have nothing to lose, it will be difficult for them to recover from a mauling at the hands of Brazil, while Uruguay can play with freedom.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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