Focus On... URUGUAY!

URUGUAY

Manager: Óscar Tabárez

Previous Best: Champions (1930, 1950)

Likely Line-up (4-4-2)

Pos	Name	Age	Caps	Club
GK	Muslera*	27	60	Galatasary (TUR)
RB	Cáceres*	27	55 (1)	Juventus (ITA)
CB	Lugano*	33	92 (9)	Unattached
CB	Godín*	28	76 (3)	Atlético Madrid (ESP)
LB	Pereira*	29	88 (3)	Benfica (POR)
RM	Stuani	28	8 (2)	Espanyol (ESP)
CM	Lodeiro*	25	25 (3)	Corinthians (BRA)
CM	Arévalo*	32	42 (2)	Morelia (MEX)
LM	Rodríguez	28	71 (8)	Atlético Madrid (ESP)
ST	Suárez*	27	77 (38)	Liverpool (ENG)
ST	Cavani*	27	60 (20)	Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

* Has appeared at a previous World Cup

Average Age: 28.4

Total Caps: 654

Best Odds: 33/1 (Victor Chandler, BetFred)
Player to Watch: Cristian Rodríguez

Following on from Ghana, the next blog in this series looks at the nation who sent Ghana out of the last World Cup, in the most controversial of circumstances.

For the first time in a generation, Uruguay go into the World Cup with genuine expectation rather than just hope. The last of their 2 World Cup victories was in the 1950 competition, also held in Brazil. Superstition over the venue of this competition, combined with their semi-final run in South Africa, have come together to engender real belief in their fans that they might just go all the way this time. They certainly have some exceptional players, but winning the World Cup might be asking a little to much of this side.

Fernando Muslera returns in goal for Uruguay for a second World Cup. Muslera went through their entire group phase without conceding a goal in 2010, and was the hero of the penalty shootout victory over Ghana, saving spot-kicks from John Mensah and Dominic Adiyiah. Now plying his trade with Galatasary, he is a certain pick for this competition.

Baring injuries Head Coach Óscar Tabárez will select a back 4 of Cáceres, Lugano, Godín and Periera. For the central defenders, Godín and Lugano, it has been a tale of 2 very different seasons. Godín won La Liga with Atlético Madrid, and scored in the Champions League final. Lugano meanwhile had a disappointing campaign with West Brom, and now finds himself going into the World Cup without a club. Nonetheless Lugano will partner Godín, and will captain the side. Both Godín and Lugano share the same basic weakness – pace. Uruguay will attempt to mitigate the risk of this by selecting two pacey fullbacks. Martin Cáceres of Juventus will be selected at right back, and Maxi Pereira of Benfica at left back. Uruguay will be relying heavily on their athleticism if they are not to be vulnerable to quick forwards.

Christian Stuani of Espanyol will line out on the right side of midfield. A striker by trade competition from the likes of Forlan, Suárez and Cavani means this role is the only one likely to secure him a place in the startng eleven.

In central midfield Egidio Arévalo and Nicolás Lodeiro will be returning for another World Cup, but Europeans are unlikely to have seen anything of either since South Africa. Loreiro spent 2 years at Ajax, but returned to South America in 2012 to join Botafogo, before joining Corinthians only yesterday for approx €1.5m. Lodeiro will be the more defensive of the pair. Arévalo meanwhile will venture forward more often, but is also primarily a defensive midfielder. He has had a somewhat nomadic existance since 2010, having brief spells at Palermo and Chicago Fire, before most recently joining Monarcas Morelia in the Mexican league.

photo - Ailura

Christian Rodríguez (left) of Atlético Madrid will play on the left of midfield. An unused substitute in the Champions League final, the wingers creativity and selflessness will be important to Uruguay's game as their superstar forwards.

Up front Suárez and Cavani will need no introduction to anyone reading this blog. Cavani, the most expensive player in French history at €64.5m, has scored 15 goals in 30 games for PSG in his debut season. He will lead the line for Uruguay, with Suárez given more freedom to roam around the pitch as he sees fit.

Nine of the starting eleven for Uruguay played in South Africa, and given that they reached the 3^rd place playoff in that competition they should easily have more World Cup experience than any other side in Brazil. However with that experience comes age. One would expect Uruguay to qualify from a group featuring poor England and Italy sides, and minnows Costa Rica, but as the tournament progresses age could catch up with them. 

Focus On... GHANA!

GHANA

Manager: James Kwesi Appiah

Previous Best: 1/4 Final (2010)

Likely Line-up (4-2-3-1)

Pos	Name	Age	Caps	Club
GK	Fatau Duada	29	17	Orlando Pirates (RSA)
RB	Opare	23	16	Porto (POR)
CB	Akaminko	26	8 (1)	Eskişehirspor (TUR)
CB	Boye	27	26(3)	Rennes (FRA)
LB	Sumaila	21	5	Mamelodi Sundowns (RSA)
DM	Essien	31	56 (9)	AC Milan (ITA)
DM	Muntari	29	81 (20)	AC Milan (ITA)
RAM	Ayew	24	47 (4)	Marseille (FRA)
CAM	Boateng	27	11 (2)	Schalke 04 (GER)
LAM	Asamoah	25	60 (4)	Juventus (ITA)
ST	Gyan	28	78 (39)	Al Ain (UAE)

* Has appeared at a previous World Cup

Average Age: 26.1

Total Caps: 424

Best Odds: 250/1 (SkyBet, Bet365)
Player to Watch: Andre Ayew

Ghana go into the world cup with a degree of uncertainty hanging over a number of selections, and a degree of pride in being the only African nation to have an entirely domestic backroom staff (right). Manager James Kwesi Appiah has key decisions to make before kicking off against the USA on June 16^th.

100% Ghanaian backroom staff

Despite his advancing years, many Premier League fans will be surprised not to see former Wigan goalie Richard Kingston between the posts for Ghana. The 35 year old hasn't played for his national team since October, and is out of the squad entirely. Fatau Duada of South African Premiership side Orlando Pirates will instead start in goal for the black stars.

Daniel Opare is a likely starter at right back. I have seen a number of websites speculating that Daniel Akaminko will start at right full back, but I would expect him to partner Boye in his natural position at centre back. Opare spent the 2013/14 season playing for Standard Liège. Although the Belgian league wouldn’t be considered as being the strongest in Europe, Porto saw enough in Opare to acquire his services on a Bosman transfer.

The matter of which pairing of centre backs Appiah will choose remains a mystery. The 1st choice pairing during qualifying was Boye & Mensah. However with both unavailable for the 1st leg of the African play-off, Samuel Inkoom and Jerry Akaminko came in, only for Ghana to run riot in an impressive 6-1 victory over Egypt. Boye returned for the recent friendly with Montenegro, and should start in Brazil, probably alongside Akaminko.

At left back Appiah is likely to select Rashid Sumaila, a 21 year old centre-back by trade with Mamelodi Sundowns, with only 4 caps to his name. One complicating factor may be the late run of another 21 year old, Jeff Schlupp. Despite only having won a single cap (as late a substitute against Gabon in 2011), an impressive 32 appearances for a Leicester City, in their league winning season in England’s 2^nd tier, brings him into contention. The recent friendly with Montenegro offers no indication as to Appiahs thoughts. David Addy started that game, but has now been dropped from the panel completely. It will be interesting to see which of the young recruits gets the nod against Holland in their friendly on May 31st.

Although their defence certainly isn’t the weakest at the World Cup, it is in the midfield and forward positions where Ghana’s household names feature. Despite his advancing years, the toll injuries have taken on his game, and a strong push from Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu of Udinese, his cult like status will likely see Michael Essian join his AC Millan teammate Sulley Muntari in midfield, after Essien missed the 2010 competition in South Africa through injury. Both will be very well known to fans of English football.

 photo Clément Bucco-Lechat

On the right wing a late burst of form for Marseille, including a hat-trick against Ajaccio will likely see Andre Ayew (left) hold off the challenge of Christian Atsu (Vitesse). Ayew has had a combustible relationship with coach Appiah in the past, but that he has been heavily linked with Liverpool and Napoli, as well as Manchester United and Internazionale gives you some idea of the talent he possesses. His combination of pace, strength and skill could see him emerge as one of the unlikely stars of this world Cup, particularly if Ghana can navigate what will be a very difficult group.

Ghanaian player of the year for 2012 & 2013, Kwadwo Asamoah, will start on the left wing. Asamoah usually plays as a wing back for Juventus in their 5-3-2 system, so his defensive abilities and athleticism will be of great benefit considering he will be expected to support whichever of the inexperienced options Appiah selects at left back, in addition to his attacking responsibilities.

Another name, familiar to fans of English football, Kevin-Prince Boateng, has returned from international retirement, and will play in support of the single striker. Boateng was never able to produce his best football while playing in England, but this free role may allow him to produce the form he has been showing Schalke this season.

The lone striker for Ghana will be Asamoah Gyan. Formerly of Sunderland, Gyan is currently wasting his undoubted talent at Al Ain FC in the United Arab Emirates. If Gyan hasn't lost his edge playing at such a low level, and the €175,000 his is reportedly being paid every week haven’t robbed him of his hunger, Gyan may well be amongst the goals again in Brazil

After the cruel way they went out of the 2010 World Cup, they will go to Brazil on the crest of a wave of goodwill, but it remains to be seen if Ghana can ride that wave to the knock out stages, or if they will be washed away in the toughest of groups. They certainly look very strong going forward, but one does feel their defence is slightly suspect, and may be exposed by the likes of Özil, Müller, and of course, Christiano Ronaldo.

Welcome to The Goalpost

This is my new blog. Well, I say new. That would give an impression that i know what I am doing and this is one of a number of blogs I have run over the years. None of those things are true.

I actually intend to make calls on this blog. Instead of saying things like "amongst the best", I'll actually say it. For example. Lionel Messi is the best player in the world. You might think Christiano Ronaldo, but it's my blog, I think it, and I'm going to say it. I will be doing my best to avoid using words like 'could' when I could say should, or 'should', when I could say will.

This came about as a result of me trying to learn a bit about each of the teams taking part in the World Cup in Brazil. The media in Britain & Ireland, for the very best of reasons, tend to focus exclusively on the Premier League, meaning the only time we see players from outside that bubble is when they play English sides or Celtic in the Champions League. For people in the game there is no such thing as unknown quantities at a World cup any more, with access to international scouting agencies etc, but for fans we will be saying a lot of these players for the first time in less than a fortnight.  I hope to have a profile on each of the teams involved before they play their first game. Where things go after that remains to be seen...

I'll also be picking a 'player to watch' in each side. This won't always be the best player in the team. There is no particular way i will choose them, but if you are reading this blog you probably don't need me to tell you to keep an eye on some lad called Yaya Toure for Ivory Coast, or Falcao in the Columbia side.

If you disagree with anything feel free to comment. That is the point of all this!