Key events
Justin Kavanagh writes in about the obscure Fifa bylaw I mentioned earlier. “Actually Tom, that Fifa bylaw has been rewritten just before this tournament: Now, if future hosts also qualify as winners, they must agree to be coached by Bielsa for the next four years, while being drug-tested once-a-week for anti-depressants. Also, they will only be allowed visitation rights to their hard-won trophy at its permanent residency at the Oval Office, once a month.”
Uruguay’s Bad Omen-ometer: HIGH ALERT – Spain have not lost in 33 games and have never lost when Lamine Yamal has started.
Just a reminder if you see Marcelo Bielsa on the apps DO NOT swipe. This from Sid Lowe’s preview of today’s game:
When Uruguay were beaten 5-1 by the USA in November, he described himself as “toxic”, admitting: “Those who have a relationship with me come out of it worse. There are toxic people who only see errors, who demand, who correct, who are never satisfied with anything, who only like to talk about work, who go to eat and take a newspaper with them because they don’t want to integrate with the rest. But do you know what that behaviour is based on? Fear. One doesn’t enjoy winning; he fears losing much more.”
Or maybe just agree to meet up for a drink and store it away for a fun story. Don’t go on a second date though.
Uruguay’s build-up to this World Cup was not good (apart, obviously, from the bit where they qualified) and they lost 5-1 to the US in one of their friendlies. It hasn’t got much better at the tournament proper after two draws against solid but no world beating opponents. And now all they need to do is beat Spain. Yeah, that Spain.
Inside information on Spain: my partner* is Spanish so let’s get her verdict:
Q: What do you think of Spain’s campaign so far?
A: What do you mean by campaign?
Q: Their World Cup so far, how is it going?
A: Oh great, yeah – we’re going to win.
There you have it.
*Partner’s permission to use this interview was sought before publication.
Senegal put the hurt on Iraq earlier today, refusing to score a bad goal. It’s well worth looking at the highlights on whichever Infantino-approved replay is available to you – the result may be enough to put Senegal through as one of the best third-placed teams. You can also read our match report and just imagine the goals – they may even be better that way:
Team news
A few changes for each team. For Spain, Marcos Llorente replaces Pedro Porro in defence, while Mikel Merino and Alex Baena are in Dani Olmo and Nico Williams. Marcelo Bielsa has Fernando Muslera in goal and Darwin Nunez leading the line.
Uruguay: Fernando Muslera; Sebastian Caceres, Guillermo Varela, Mathias Olivera; Manuel Ugarte, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Valverde, Agustin Canobbio, Maxi Araujo, Juan Manuel Sanabria; Darwin Nunez. Subs: Rochet, Mele, Gimenez, Ronald Araujo, de la Cruz, de Arrascaeta, Pellistri, Martinez, Vina, Rodriguez, Aguirre, Vinas, Piquerez, Bueno, Zalazar.
Spain: Unai Simon; Marcos Llorente, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Cucurella; Mikel Merino, Alex Baena, Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Olmo, Pino, Porro, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA)
Fun fact, courtesy of Sid Lowe: Uruguay have not won a World Cup game without Luis Suárez since 1990 (just to clarify, Suárez did not play in the 1990 World Cup as he was three years old and he’s not that good). Suárez is not in the squad for this World Cup.
Are Spain the best team at the World Cup? No! Because the Fifa rankings say they’re No 3 in the world, and those rankings are in no way flawed. They are, however, probably among the top two contenders, aside from France. And the French just gave everyone’s favourite dark horse, Norway, one hell of a beating. How much we can read into that is debatable – Norway rested 10 players – but the French still won 4-1 and looked very crisp. So Spain may want to put on a dominant display tonight to gather some momentum as they head to the knockouts. Or they could just do the PSG method and mess around until it really matters and then become unbeatable.
Good news for Uruguay! Even if they do get thrashed by Spain tonight and end up going out, they’re guaranteed a place in the 2030 World Cup due to the fact that they are co-hosts. And by co-hosts, I mean they’re hosting exactly one match. No one is saying that it’s easier than ever to qualify for the World Cup but …
Spain are also guaranteed a place at the 2030 World Cup due to the fact that they’re another of the 38 tournament co-hosts. What happens if Spain or Uruguay win this World Cup? Do they qualify for 2030 automatically twice – as winners and hosts? Interestingly, under an obscure Fifa bylaw, they do. They get to field two teams, but each player is only allowed to play with one leg and has to wear a hat made of bees to make things fairer. Should be interesting!
Preamble
This World Cup has suffered a little from its expanded format – there have been few heavyweight clashes but I guess two former champions battling for first place in the group counts. Here’s what’s at stake tonight in Guadalajara (and the rest of Group G):
Spain will guarantee qualification with a draw or win against Uruguay.
Uruguay need to beat Spain to absolutely guarantee qualification. A draw could be enough but it would be close.
Tom will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s your initial briefing on this matchup, courtesy of Graham Ruthven’s daily watch guide:
What to watch for
Uruguay haven’t played much like a Bielsa team at this World Cup so far. The 1930 and 1950 winners have struggled for creativity and have been one-dimensional in the final third in draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia. To make the knockout rounds, Uruguay must show more variety.
Spain bounced back from their underwhelming opener against Cape Verde to put four past Saudi Arabia. Lamine Yamal’s return gave the European champions a much-needed direct threat, which opened up space and restored faith that Spain will be as strong as was predicted before the start of the tournament.
Player to watch: Lamine Yamal, Spain – The 18-year-old is Spain’s biggest difference-maker and the player who makes everything click for them in the final third. Without him, they simply don’t have the necessary invention.
