Uruguay v South Korea
Round of 16, 2010 World Cup
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Saturday, 26 June 2010
1500 (BST) / 1600 (Local Time)
Watch Uruguay v South Korea live online.
Uruguay have pace, power, technique, flair, discipline – almost everything going for them. They’ve been tested – mostly by Mexico – and come out on top. They’ve got a strong midfield and goal-scoring strikers.
South Korea have none of the above, but more than a stereotype, they have a fantastic attitude and are capable of conjuring up the odd moment of magic. It showed against Argentina (where they almost scored at 1-2 only for their finishing to let them down), and it showed against Nigeria. The thing is, Nigeria had their chances to finish them off, and Greece had no plan B, it was defend or get out.
The only time the Koreans were tested with pace and quality, they had their defence lockpicked time and time again. Uruguay will be better than Argentina at the back, though not always as effective going forward.
Uruguay topped one of the other “winnable groups” at this world cup at the expense of France. More than at their expense, by a football pitch. Like Italy, their high profile players underperformed, and in France’s case quite dramatically. It’s crazy, France were still in a position to be a super power pre-Domenech and that man has been a curse on that team, turning them from highly rated to highly hated.
Irish had their revenge but let’s forget about the pettiness now because Les Bleus are out and that’s it. Time to talk about Uruguay and South Korea. What has really got me excited is the emergence of the unheralded nations at this world cup. The likeliness of Uruguay or South Korea getting a guaranteed quarter final slot was never likely.
Think about the fact that the winner will face USA or Ghana for a place in the semi’s? It’s always exciting to see a team dismissed by so many still in the mix at the end stages. Team’s like Turkey and Croatia use that good feeling to make the third place playoff a meaningful match.
Uruguay are on the cusp of living up to their history, and I am quite excited about this really. I love seeing one of the giant’s awake from their slumber and remind everyone who they are. They were big dogs generations before my wake but they have a place In history.
They have some great attacking players in Forlan, Suarez and Cavani and a fairly mean defence as well. They have limitations but they passed their group without conceding any goals and deserved their wins. South Korea really impressed me against Greece, did well against Argentina but were out of their depth against them and seemed to be quite lucky against misfiring Nigeria. They have a few lively players who have more than enough fight but unlike their co-hosts I don’t see them going any further.
Uruguay v South Korea Betting Tip
South Korea have better odds of winning this game than 4.68, back them to cause an upset. Click here to bet on this and other World Cup games.
Watch Uruguay v South Korea Live Online
You can watch Uruguay take on South Korea live online as well as all other World Cup matches, plus hundreds of football games from around the world. Read our live World Cup football page for more details.
Also See: Soccerlens’ 2010 World Cup Second Round Preview.
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