The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Uruguay

  • Les Blues at exit door?

    A French aka Les Blues victory over Uruguay in the 1st Quarter final of the 2018 World Cup on Friday at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Russia is like a man trying to ride a bicycle up Olumo Rock, a tourist spot in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

    On current rating, both have played 4 matches, Uruguay won all (beat Egypt and Saudi each by a lone goal; spanked hosts Russia 3-0 before Cavani’s brace decision Ronaldo’s Portugal 2-1 in R16); scored 7 goals, conceded 2 goals and has +5 goals difference. France won 3 matches ( beat Australia 2-1, Peru 1-0, played goalless with Denmark before the 4-3 thrashing of Argentina in R16) scored 7 goals like Uruguay but conceded 4 goals and has +3 goals difference.

    The implication of this is that France with a record of poor marksmanship may need more than the elasticity of Mbappe and Pepe to score. Before the desperate encounter with Argentina where France scored a whopping 4 goals, they could only squeeze a goal per match, one against Australia but for the own goal by Behich in the 80’, the match would have ended in a draw and that lone goal against Peru scored by Pepe. France was not doing well.

    Book makers are hinging their 47% win vote to France because of the surprise performance against Argentina. 23% feels Uruguay will win while 30% feels there will be a draw and then a penalty shoot-out. Uruguay W1 D4 L3 in their encounters. Suarez scored in the lone victory of June 2013. In their world cup encounters, Uruguay had W1 D2 winning in 1966 with draws in 2002 and 2010.

    There is something Uruguay will not like to hear, they have never won five times in a row in same world cup tournament. Diego Maradona had said the new French wonder boy; Mbappe is like Claudio Canigga a notable Argentinian star who wrecked opposing teams at will. There is a sentimental angle to it.

    Read Also: Brazil are through to the World Cup quarter-finals

    France Forward, Griezmann is team mate with Uruguay defenders Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez at Athletico Madrid. They are so close that Griezmann keeps feeling he is from Uruguay. Godin is the godfather of Griezmann’s daughter. Suarez said Uruguay does not have time for sentiment and Friday will show it.
    Cavani is PSG’s all-time top scorer and is ready to bang in goals for Uruguay. Cavani killed Portugal with his brace. Will he also wreck France? But the news from Russia is that Cavani may not be fit for the match because of a calf injury. Mbappe and Griezmann have scored two goals each for France. The match is 1500 hours WAT.

    The second match at 1900 hours may not go to the wire at all. Belgium v Brazil. Surprised? Kazan Arena will see ‘wenn’ as we say in Warri language meaning they will see American Wonders. Brazil is playing quarter final in consecutive 7th time in world cup. They were beaten two times at this stage in 2006 by France and 2010 by Netherlands. It is important to tell you that European teams knocked out the five times world champions in 2006, 2010 and the last one in Brazil 2014.

    Pundits are always saying Brazil is favorite to win in every tournament, even at this stage, 43% vote a Brazilian victory, 28% say it’s a Belgium win while 29% say it go to the wire and be decided via penalties. Both teams have met five times mostly friendlies. Belgium won in 1963 but Brazil won the three other encounters.

    The only time the ever met in the world cup, was in 2002 Round of 16 and Brazil ran away with a 2 nil victory.

    On current standing, both have played 4 matches each, Brazil has W3, D1 (drew 1-1 with Switzerland; defeated both Costa Rica and Serbia 2 nil each and also dazed Mexico 2-0 in R16), scoring 7 goals conceding 1 and having +6 Goals difference.

    Belgium won all her 4 matches (walloped Panama 3-0; defeated hard fighting Tunisia 4-2; subdued almighty Three Lions 1-0 before edging Japan 3-2 in a pulsating R16), were the high goal scorers with 11 goals conceding 4 goals with +7 goals difference.

    The implication of this is that Belgium may adopt wing play to break the Brazilian defense. Belgium manner of pumping in goals is dangerous for the Samba boys. The Belgians currently eyed to lift the cup will look unto Lukaku already runners up goal scorer with 4 goals and Felaini to use his height to score from corner kicks. Eden Hazard could create hazardous moments for Brazil.

    Marcelo, the tireless horse is coming back for Brazil in the midfield. Refs have started neglecting the theatrics of Neymar in diving or his attitude when tackled.

    He has to watch it. Will Brazil go out again at the quarters?

    Saturday the other quarter finals shall be decided. Sweden v England at 1500 hours and hosts Russia v Croatia at 1900 hours both WAT. We shall periscope those two matches later.

  • World Cup: Uruguay knock Portugal out

    Match Updates:

    Uruguay 2-1 Portugal

    • Cavani opens scoring (7)
    • Pepe header levels (55
    • Cavani puts Uruguay ahead (62)
    • Gimenez returns for Uruguay
    • Pereira, Silva, Guedes start
    • Last-16 match in Sochi

    GOAL! URUGUAY 2-1 PORTUGAL (Cavani 62)

    WHAT A GOAL! Uruguay are back in front after Portugal’s defence make a mess of a clearance, allowing Bentancur a run at the back four. And the Juventus midfielder’s brilliant pass picks out Cavani’s run, with the PSG forward then curling an unstoppable effort past a diving Patricio from the left edge of the area.

    GOAL! URUGUAY 1-1 PORTUGAL (Pepe 55)

    Portugal are level as from a short corner worked to Guerreiro, the full back whips the ball in from the left-hand touchline straight on to the head of the unmarked Pepe. And the experienced centre back was going to miss from six yards out.

    GOAL! URUGUAY 1-0 PORTUGAL (Cavani 7)

    Wow, what a start as Uruguay take an early lead after a lovely flowing move sees Suarez pick up possession of the ball near the right touchline. And the Braca forward whips in a gorgeous ball to the far post, where Cavani rises high to head the ball home. In fact,I think that has come off the PSG striker’s face.

    PORTUGAL TEAM NEWS

    Team to play Uruguay: Patricio, Pepe, Guerreiro, Fonte, Pereira, Mario, Adrien Silva, Carvalho, Bernardo Silva, Ronaldo (c), Guedes

    Subs: Lopes, Beto, Alves, Dias, Rui, Cedric, Fernandes, Moutinho, Fernandes, Quaresma, Silva, Martins

    URUGUAY TEAM NEWS

     

    Team to play Portugal: Muslera, Gimenez, Godin (c), Laxalt, Caceres, Bentancur, Nandez, Torreira, Vecino, Suarez, Cavani

    Subs: Campana, Silva, Varela, Silva, Pereira, Coates, Sanchez, Rodriguez, De Arrascaeta, Stuani, Gomez, Urretavizcaya

     

    HREE PORTUGAL CHANGES: QUARESMA DROPS OUT

    Meanwhile, Portugal manager Fernando Santos has made three alterations from the team that could only manage a 1-1 draw with Iran in their last Group B encounter, with Ricardo Pereira, Bernardo Silva and Goncalo Guedes returning in place of Cedric, Ricardo Quaresma and Andre Silva.

    GIMENEZ RETURNS

    So Uruguay boss Oscar Tabarez has made just the one change from the team that beat hosts Russia 3-0 in their final Group A clash, with key centre-back Jose Maria Gimenez recalled in place of Sebastian Coates having recovered from a back injury.

  • Russia 2018: Russia, Uruguay advance to Round of Sixteen

    Uruguay’s lone goal victory over Saudi Arabia ensured that Egypt and Saudi Arabia crashed out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in group A, with Russia and Uruguay advancing to the knockout stages.

    Luis Suarez scored the only goal at the Rostov Arena, sweeping in from close range on his 100th appearance for La Celeste. This goal made him the first Uruguay player to score in three FIFA World Cups.

    The Green Falcons had a good outing against Uruguay, far better than their 5-0 dismissal performance to Russia on the opening day, they were made to pay for one lapse by goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais, whose misjudgement allowed Suarez to score.

    Read Also: Russia 2018: Messi misses penalty as Iceland hold Argentina

    With this result, Saudi Arabia are without a win in twelve FIFA World Cup matches and in danger of finishing bottom of their group, as they have in all three previous appearances.

    Russia’s 3-1 win over Egypt on Tuesday means both they and Uruguay have collected maximum points from their two Group A games, with Egypt and Saudi Arabia gathering nothing after two matches.

    Russia and Uruguay will meet on Monday, 25th June, to determine whio finishes top and second place in the group, with both hoping to avoid potential opponents, Portugal or Spain in the round of sixteen.

  • World Cup: Suarez gives Uruguay lead over Saudi Arabia

    • Uruguay 1-0 Saudi Arabia (4pm)
    • Suarez scores from corner (23)
    • Win sees Uruguay into last 16
    • Suarez, Cavani start in attack

    Hammered by hosts Russia in the opening game, Saudi Arabia need a win to stay in the tournament. Today, they are up against Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and co.

    URUGUAY TEAM NEWS

    Team to play Saudi Arabia: Muslera, Varela, Godin, Gimenez, Caceres, Sanchez, Bentancur, Vecino, Rodriguez, Suarez, Cavani.

    SAUDI ARABIA TEAM NEWS

    Team to play Uruguay: Al-Owais, Hawsawi (c), Al-Bulayhi, Al-Burayk, Al-Shahrani, Al-Faraj, Bahbir, Ateef, Al-Jassam, Al-Dawsari, Al-Muwallad

    KEY MATCH STATS

    • Uruguay are looking to win their first two matches of a World Cup tournament for the first time since 1954.
    • Saudi Arabia have failed to score in eight of their last 10 World Cup games.
    • They didn’t have a single shot on target in their opener against Russia.
    • Luis Suarez becomes the sixth Uruguayan to reach 100 caps.

    TODAY’S VENUE

    The Rostov Arena sits on the banks of the Don river one thousand kilometres to the south-east of Moscow. FC Rostov will move in once the tournament.

  • Chicken palaver for Uruguayan club director

     

    Uruguay’s football association has sanctioned first-division club Fenix after two chickens were let loose on the pitch in a game against Racing on Sunday.

    The incident has also made club director Gaston Alegari a target of criticism from animal rights groups and fans after he violently kicked one of the birds off the pitch.

    The stunt, designed as a jab at the ability and attitude of the Racing players, caused the game to be delayed for several minutes, with Alegari losing his temper and kicking out one of the poultry. He later apologised on Twitter.

    The Uruguayan association decided on Tuesday that Fenix will have to play one match away from their home stadium because of the incident.

    The two chickens were painted in white and green, the colors of Racing – who won 1-0 after scoring five minutes before the final whistle.

    Fenix are currently 12th in the 15-team Uruguayan Primera Division, one place above Racing, with seven points from six games.    The incident saw club director Gaston Alegari criticised after he kicked one of the birds

    Uruguay two time winners of the world cup in 1930 and 1950, will tackle Egypt, Saudi Arabia and host Russia in their quest for a third title. They begin their group stage campaign against Egypt on June 15, face Saudi Arabia on June 20 and round off the group stage matches with a clash against hosts Russia on June 25.

    At the last edition in Brazil they kissed the exit door in the round of 16 after losing 2-0 to Colombia.

  • Uruguay Names Pitch after Luis Suarez

    Uruguay Names Pitch after Luis Suarez

    Luis Suarez broke down in tears as he made an emotional return to the pitch in Uruguay where he first kicked a football.

    The Barcelona star and his family went back to his first club, Nacional, where a new synthetic pitch has been named in his honour.

    And the opening ceremony for the Luis Alberto Suarez pitch at Nacional’s Los Cespedes training complex in Montevideo clearly brought a lot of happy memories flooding back for the striker.

    The Barcelona and Uruguay striker started his career with Nacional as a teenager

    The Barcelona and Uruguay striker started his career with Nacional as a teenager
    Suarez and his daughter Delfina (left) and son Benjamin applaud during the ceremony

    Suarez and his daughter Delfina (left) and son Benjamin applaud during the ceremony
    The returning hero took time to sign a Barcelona shirt for a fan at the pitch in Montevideo

    The returning hero took time to sign a Barcelona shirt for a fan at the pitch in Montevideo.

  • Brazil back on top of FIFA rankings

    Brazil dethroned arch-rivals Argentina and returned to the summit of football’s world rankings for the first time in almost seven years, the ruling body FIFA published on Thursday.

    World Cup qualifying wins over Uruguay and Paraguay put the resurgent Selecao top for the first time since the 2010 World Cup with 1,661 points in the latest list of FIFA.

    While Brazil have qualified as the first team for the 2018 tournament in Russia, Argentina are struggling and lost their last game in Bolivia as they slipped to second in the rankings with 1,603 points.

    Reigning world champions Germany remain third and Chile fourth, Colombia climbed two into fifth, France remain sixth.
    Belgium slipped two to seventh, Portugal and Spain stayed eighth and 10th while Switzerland rose from 11th to ninth.

    Poland were one of six teams to record highest ranking in 11th place and Macedonia were the biggest movers when they climbed 33 spots into 133rd.

     

  • Brazil qualifies for 2018 FIFA World Cup

    Brazil qualifies for 2018 FIFA World Cup

    Brazil have become the first side to seal their place at the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia next year.

    Their 3-0 win over Paraguay, along with defeats for Argentina and Uruguay, means they cannot finish lower than fourth in South American qualifying.

    Liverpool forward Philippe Coutinho, FC Barcelona striker Neymar and Real Madrid’s Marcelo scored Brazil’s goals.

    Neymar also missed a penalty kick as his side moved nine points clear of second-placed Colombia.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the victory was Brazil’s eighth straight win under coach Tite.

    Paraguay, meanwhile, find themselves five points off the top four with only four games remaining.

    Two-time World Cup winners Argentina face a battle to qualify for Russia with their 0-2 loss to Bolivia in La Paz leaving them fifth, a point behind Chile.

    They will have to do so without forward Lionel Messi.

    The FC Barcelona player has been banned for four international matches for directing “insulting words’’ at an assistant referee during last Thursday’s 1-0 win over Chile.

  • James’ volley against Uruguay voted best goal of the W/Cup

    The Golden Boot recipient at Brazil 2014 has picked up another accolade, this time for his sublime effort in his country’s last-16 win over the Celeste

    James Rodriguez’s first strike in Colombia’s 2-0 World Cup win over Uruguay has been voted goal of the tournament, ahead of Robin van Persie’s headed equaliser for Netherlands in their 5-1 win over Spain.

    The Monaco star – who is expected to complete his €88 million move to Real Madrid this week – controlled a looped header from Juan Cuadrado with his chest before turning and volleying home via the underside of the crossbar from 20 yards out to give Jose Pekerman’s men the lead after 28 minutes of play.

    James doubled his tally with a tap-in from close range after the break to help Colombia to a quarter-final meeting with Brazil, which they would eventually lose 2-1.

    The 23-year-old was one of the undisputed stars of the tournament and netted six goals in five games to scoop up the Golden Boot award ahead of Germany forward Thomas Muller.

    James becomes the third successive South American winner of the goal of the World Cup award, which is organised by Fifa’s official website, with Argentina’s Maxi Rodriguez having triumphed in 2006 and Diego Forlan collecting the trophy four years later.

  • Uruguay legalizes marijuana sale and production

    Uruguay legalizes marijuana sale and production

    Uruguay has become the first country in the world to legalize both the sale and production of marijuana. President Jose Mujica has championed the measure as a way of combatting the illegal drug industry that has decimated parts of Uruguay.

    The country’s parliament passed the bill by a vote of 16 to 13 on Tuesday evening. Senator Alberto Couriel, a member of the ruling Broad Front left-wing coalition, called the passing of the bill “a historic day” for Uruguay.

    Under the new legislation, the price of marijuana will be set at one dollar per gram, aiming to undercut the current price of $1.40 on the illegal market. The sale and production of the drug will be regulated by a specially-set-up government body which will administer a database of adult citizens registered to consume marijuana.

    “This is an attempt to bring an end to the illegal drugs trade by identifying the market and bringing it into the light of day,” said President Mujica in a statement. Mujica added that the law does not promote the consumption of the drug; it merely identifies the consumer so that authorities may “intervene if [the consumer] overdoes it.”

    Before the new legislation was passed, the consumption of marijuana in Uruguay was not penalized, but the sale and production of the drug was considered a criminal offense.

    A number of conditions will govern the sale and production of the drug. Registered Uruguayans over the age of 18 will have the right to buy up to 40 grams of marijuana from pharmacies every month and cultivate a maximum of six plants on their property. The legislation will also allow for the creation of so-called cannabis clubs, composed of up to 45 members who will be able to grow a maximum of 100 plants.

    Uruguay’s National Drug Board estimates that there are around 120,000 marijuana users in Uruguay from a population of 3.3 million. Consumer groups estimate a higher figure, putting the number of users at around 200,000.

    The bill has triggered debate in Latin America over the issue of the illegal drugs trade and the problems it creates.

    “I think it is unrealistic,” Paraguay’s National Anti-drug Minister, Luis Rojas, told Spanish news agency Efe earlier this year. Despite the new law, Rojas said he believes Uruguay will continue to receive marijuana grown in Paraguay.

    Moreover, president of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Alves, said that Brazil was not ready for the legalization of marijuana in neighboring Uruguay. According to police figures, around 80 percent of the marijuana cultivated in Paraguay is exported to Brazil where it feeds the illegal drug trade. Brazil is concerned that the legalization of the drug could lead to a similar system in Uruguay.