World Cup 2026: No Time to Celebrate for Bolivia

Uruguay vs Bolivia

Coming into the sixth round of the CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifiers, Argentina still hold the top spot in the standings, but Uruguay are dangerously lurking, just two points behind the defending world champions.

Uruguay will host Bolivia, who won their first match in their World Cup campaign. Henry and Ramiro Vaca have given Bolivia a new swagger as they humbled Peru with a 2-0 clean sheet victory, giving them well-deserved points in the standings. But their elation would be cut short as they’d try to produce another win, this time against a proven Uruguay squad.

Valverde’s team is coming off a statement win against Argentina in Buenos Aires, so just like Bolivia, they too have a bounce in their step. Uruguay are slowly climbing the CONMEBOL standings, and a win against Bolivia in their upcoming match could propel them to the top of the South American region.

Talking Points

Uruguay stun Argentina

Marcelo Bielsa and his team marched into Buenos Aires with the sole purpose of defeating the defending world champions on their home soil. Coming into the match, Messi and the rest of the Argentines have remained undefeated since winning the World Cup, and that obviously puts a target on their backs. The defending champs don’t seem to be fazed at all, as they took care of every South American team that tried to get in their way.

Uruguay are known for their grit and grind style of play, and they showcased it well against Argentina. Both teams were hot off the gates, trying to establish control in the midfield. Both teams also had convincing attempts at the goal early on, but none found the back of the net—not until the 41’ minute, that is.

Matías Viña got control of the ball in the dangerous spot near the left corner of the field, then produced one of many World Cup 2026 highlights in the match with a stunning cross that sliced through multiple players. The ball found a running Ronald Araujo, who dished a powerful strike that slotted through, giving the visiting squad the lead minutes before halftime.

It was more of the same during the second half, when both teams had multiple chances to score but ultimately failed. It was a back-and-forth dog fight, and the home team looked like Uruguay were getting under their skin with every attack they missed. During the last few minutes of regulation, Darwin Núñez broke from the pack after receiving a precise through ball. He immediately beat the last Argentinian defender and calmly passed his strike through the keeper’s legs. 0-2 Uruguay.

Bolivia get on the board

It took them five games, but Bolivia have now put some points on the table after defeating Peru at Estadio Hernando Siles. Coming into this match, Marcelo Martins and his team were dead last in the CONMEBOL standings, having failed to score a single point in their first four matches.

With their backs against the wall, the Bolivians stood tall in front of their home patrons and took care of Peru with ease. It was all Bolivia in both halves as they bullied the Peruvian defence with a flurry of attacks. Henry Vaca scored the first goal in the 20th minute, and Ramiro Vaca added another in the 87th, sending Peru to last place in the table with one point.

With this newfound confidence, Bolivia hope to turn their campaign around by putting in strong performances moving forward. But they will have a tall order going against a threatening Uruguay team

History

Unfortunately for Bolivia, history shows their poor performances against Uruguay during their head-to-heads. These clubs have faced each other 11 times before, and Uruguay won eight of those matches with an undefeated 5-0 record at home. Meanwhile, Bolivia have been able to snag two victories against Uruguay and were able to tally a draw as well.

The Uruguayans have developed an act for goal-getting when matched up against the Bolivians, as they have scored a total of 30 goals in their 11 matches, while Bolivia have scored a respectable amount of goals with 15.

In recent form, the Bolivians have been struggling for the most part in their World Cup qualifying campaign. They have been on a four-game losing streak to start their CONMEBOL campaign, but with Antonio Zago, they were able to bag their first win against Peru in Lapaz last week. Their win over Peru marks their first win of the season and might just propel them into a fantastic run moving forward.

Meanwhile, Uruguay have been on a roll, after stunning Argentina, they find themselves in the second spot in the standings with 10 points. They have won three of their first five matches, which included clean sheet victories over South American giants Brazil and Argentina. And with a win against Bolivia, they could top the standings and be the top dog in one of, if not the toughest, regions in the football world.

Betting Tip

If you look at the CONMEBOL standings, you would already agree with the SBOTOP World Cup 2026 betting odds for this match. Understandably, Uruguay are the heavy favourites for this one. Marcelo Bielsa’s squad is priced at 1.10 to win, while Bolivia are humbly priced at 10.00 as the underdogs.

There are a lot of lines I would recommend for this one, but personally, I think goals over 3.00 at 1.83 would be a great line for punters to consider. As stated above, Uruguay have little to no problem finding the back of the net when facing Bolivia, especially at home. In fact, even goals over 3.25 at 2.08 still look like a strong line with enough value to be considered.

Another line to keep an eye on is First Half 1X2 Uruguay at 1.42. As the main lines of the match suggest, this would be a cake walk for Uruguay, and for them to have the lead by halftime shouldn’t be that much of a problem for Valverde and his team.

 

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