The Group D matchup between England and Uruguay features two teams that came away with no points after their openers, but one looked pretty good and the other was Uruguay. However, all of that goes out the window on Thursday as a win saves one team’s World Cup campaign and a loss likely sends the other packing from Brazil. A draw might be the preferred result for all involved.
World Cup Odds: England +105, Uruguay +255, Draw +245
Why Uruguay Can Win
Luis Suarez has a lot of pressure on his shoulders if he can return from a knee injury that caused him to miss Uruguay’s stunning 3-1 loss to Costa Rica. His team was wasteful in front of goal, so Suarez can help there, and he knows the England team extremely well as he plays with most of them on Liverpool in the Premiership, where he won the Player of the Year award and of course, he plays against the rest of the team. He knows what they do well and what they don’t, so he can be a major help, even if he doesn’t play, but he should line up.
One thing Suarez can’t help with is the shoddy defending we saw against Costa Rica. Captain Diego Lugano looked every bit of 33 years old, Diego Godin looked tired after a long season with Atletico Madrid, and Maxi Pereira got frustrated and was sent off late, so he’ll miss this game.
Why England Can Win
Uruguay’s defensive problems could play right into England’s hands as they looked incredible at times in a 2-1 loss to Italy. England’s counterattack gave the Italians all kinds of trouble, led by the speed of Raheem Sterling, who plays with the fearlessness England often lacks at these tournaments and the finishing ability of Daniel Sturridge, who scored their goal. Wayne Rooney needs to be better, but he wasn’t as bad as the media made him out to be.
England’s undoing was some poor defending, especially on the second goal and they struggled to find the killer pass in the final 10 minutes of the game to earn a point. They did look very good at times against Italy, but they need to be more consistent as there are no moral victories when you get to the World Cup. At least they looked relaxed for the first time in ages.
Outlook
Uruguay has won four and drawn three of their 10 meetings with England, who won the last meeting by a score of 2-1 in a friendly in 2006. This game is very intriguing because of Suarez’s connections to the English team and if he plays, they’re going to have to watch him because there is nothing he would like more than to score against this team, but they can’t forget about Edinson Cavani, who scored a penalty against Costa Rica. Neither team will give an inch in what should be a truly fascinating match from start to finish.
Pick: Draw
