Saturday 30th June 1900hrs Uruguay v Portugal Football – International – World Cup The second of Saturday’s double header looks to be another cracker with Uruguay coming up against Portugal. There’s so many intriguing match ups in this one with captains and club rivals Diego Godin and Cristiano Ronaldo in direct opposition at one end, and the fiery characters of Luis Suarez and Pepe at the other. It has all the makings of a game that is not to be missed and will have to have a strong referee to ensure it does not descend into chaos. Betting tips for Uruguay’s clash with Portugal below.
Uruguay are one of those teams who you would absolutely hate to play against. They have yet to concede a goal at this tournament (the only nation who can claim that), are extremely well organised, work like trojans for each other and have two of the best strikers in world football to lead their attack. Their whole philosophy is summed up in their captain with Atletico Madrid’s Godin showing that you do not have to be flashy to be good. He’s arguably the best centre half and has led by example thus far. Uruguay were anything but impressing in their first two games against Egypt and Saudi Arabia but they ground out 1-0 wins on both occasions and ensured they had qualified before the final group game with Russia. Perhaps that allowed them to play without as much fear and the resulting 3-0 win has not only qualified them as group winners but giving them the perfect set up for the knockout phase. The way in which the draw was structured meant they were always going to be up against either Spain or Portugal so they will have been well prepared for a difficult match. You can rest assured the Portuguese will know they’re in for just the same.
Portugal came into this World Cup as champions of Europe and as such there is naturally going to be increased expectation. Being drawn in the same group as Iberian rivals Spain meant they would have a battle on their hands to finish top of their section but with Iran and Morocco making up the group qualification looked pretty straightforward – on paper. It was anything but as Ronaldo and co were tested in every game and – along with Spain – were somewhat fortunate to make it through the groups. A 3-3 draw with Spain was followed by a 1-0 win over Morocco who were the better side for long spells but could not find a goal. Iran proved every bit as testing in Portugal’s final game in what has possibly been the most controversial match of the World Cup so far. After it’s all said and done Portugal finished second courtesy of a late equaliser by Spain. It’s been a far better showing than the last World Cup when they were eliminated at the group stage but whether that will be satisfying enough is doubtful, especially for their captain who will be hoping to add the only trophy that has so far eluded him in his career.
Uruguay v Portugal Betting Tip
There is no shortage of talking points as alluded to in the opening part of this preview but most of them mean that there is the potential for this to turn into something of a farce. The individuals involved will look for every possible advantage during the match and that may spill into farcical. The biggest strengths of these two is most certainly their defence – and that may seem somewhat illogical as Portugal have conceded four goals in three games, but they are not an expansive and rely on keeping things tight and hoping for their star man Ronaldo to make the difference at the other end. Uruguay operate a very similar approach and one which is virtually modelled on Atletico Madrid. Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez are the centre half pairing at club level and they will be all important in their nation’s charge through this knockout phase. With Suarez and Cavani at the other end they too will know that as long as they limit the opponents chances, they’ll be in with a chance of winning.
If pushed to select a winner I would be more inclined to lean towards Uruguay but this is the sort of match I’m happy to leave alone in that respect. Instead, I think the card markets are the one to look at here. If you can find one that offers an over/under line on yellow cards I would not put anybody off but there’s also merit in backing a red card in this one. They have been few and far between in the World Cup but the stakes are raised here and that may see temperatures raised.
Betting Tip Sending off in match 18/5 @ Unibet
