2010 FIFA World Cup: Uruguay Potential Dark Horse

In every FIFA World Cup, there is always a so called “Group of Death.” In this year’s South African version, the majority of pundits have dubbed Group G as the toughest—Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast, and the weaker North Korea.

Although Group G clearly has some of the biggest names in World Football, the most complicated group is arguably Group A.

In the run up to next month's Group A showcase, the majority of media coverage has been centered around hosts South Africa, enigmatic France, and a Mexican side that has played a number of high profile friendlies.

Left out in the cold by the mainstream news outlets is Uruguay. The two-time World Champions barely snuck into the finals via playoff, but La Celeste will certainly have a massive role to play in the most difficult World Cup group to predict.

On paper, South Africa is the worst team of the four, but they will have the support of a nation that has been preparing for this moment for years. No home team has ever failed to advance past the group stage, and Bafana Bafana will be desperate to not become the first.

After watching South Africa’s recent friendly against Colombia, there is also fear that refereeing decisions could play a role in favor of the hosts—as it did for South Korea in 2002. We must all hope that such disgraceful officiating is not tolerated by FIFA when the tournament kicks off next month.

After such a long training camp and so many friendlies, Mexico will be a tough team to judge. The players could enter tired and short of confidence following losses to England and The Netherlands, a dour draw with Ecuador, and less than convincing wins over Senegal and Angola.

France, the 2006 World Cup runner-up, have struggled mightily under coach Raymond Domenech, who has yet to find the right combination to replace instrumental players like Zinedine Zidane, Claude Makelele, Lilian Thuram, and Patrick Vieira—who led the squad to the brink of winning the Cup four years ago.

France still has plenty of world stars such as Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, Patrice Evra, and Nicolas Anelka, but the team has played some dreadfully dull football over the past few years.

Uruguay perhaps fits into a category with France: very strong on paper, but getting the big names to play together as a team will be another challenge altogether.

That will make Uruguay's match against the French on June 11th all the more intriguing. If both outfits play to their full potential, we could witness one of the best matches of the group stage.

Following convincing friendly victories over Switzerland in March and Israel on Wednesday, Uruguay will be confident it can win Group A and avoid a second round matchup with arch-rival Argentina.

In goal, Fernando Muslera, who will turn 24 during the tournament and only has five caps to his name, has given security to a position that was a glaring weakness during qualifying—especially during a humiliating 4-0 loss at home to Brazil.

At the club level, Muslera has made the "number one" position his own, having won a battle with former River Plate hero Juan Pablo Carrizo. Even though the Roman outfit battled relegation for much of the season, Muslera was often a savior for a side that could have been relegated without his presence.

Uruguay’s defense had been a weakness during qualifying, but the team has gained experience and leadership with captain Diego Lugano—a battle-hardened center-back with a habit of popping up and scoring goals in the opponents penalty area.

Villarreal's man, Diego Godin, is another reliable defender who will hopefully be able to build cohesion with Lugano in the center of the defense before the first match of the tournament.

Wingback's Maximiliano Pereira of Benfica and Alvaro Pereira of Porto add the width to stretch the pitch as coach Oscar Tabarez could opt to utilize a 3-5-2 formation—as he did against Israel.

In such a formation, former Argentinos Juniors and current Colo-Colo defender Andres Scotti should slot in the right side of the three-lined defense.

Should the former AC Milan boss continue with the 3-5-2 formation, he can count on two holding midfielders in Diego Perez and Walter Gargano, with either Ignacio Gonzalez or the young, but immensely talented, Nicolas Lodeiro acting as a playmaker.

Lodeiro was one of the stars of last season’s Copa Libertadores with Nacional. He helped the Montevideo side reach the semifinals, therefore he was thrown into the fray during Uruguay’s playoff victory over Costa Rica last November.

Although the 21-year-old's talent is not under question, there is concern for his fitness after spending more time on the bench than on the pitch following a move to Ajax.

Up front, Uruguay, led by Diego Forlan—twice winner of the European Golden Boot—is one of the strongest sides in South Africa.

The former Villarreal man is one of the few holdovers from Uruguay’s disappointing group stage exit at South Korea/Japan 2002. At 31, the Atletico star knows this could be his last chance on the biggest stage.

Luis Suarez, the leading scorer of the Dutch Eredivisie this season, is Forlan’s partner in what could be the most lethal pairing in world football. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of able bodies off the bench, including Sebastian El Loco Abreu.

Abreu is a massive target who gives Tabarez options should his team need an urgent goal. More often than not, the Botafogo man has delivered—netting 30 goals in 57 international games.

Edison Cavani, who is coming off a brilliant season with Palermo, is another super sub who should see action in South Africa.

Now, the pressure falls on Taberez—he led Uruguay to the second round in Italia 1990—to get the best out of this group of talented players that have yet to come together as a team against top competition.