The Matchday 7 at Fifa World Cup 2018 has arrived in Rostov Arena. Group A is back in action and Saudi Arabia look to get their campaign back on track after their opening humiliation against Russia. However, the experience will be the key when Uruguay look to seal their place in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup against Saudi Arabia here on Wednesday.
Line-ups:
Uruguay preview: Uruguay's 1-0 win against Egypt in their opening match means beating Saudi Arabia would leave Uruguay with six points and allow them to book their place in the knockout phase as long as Egypt does not beat Russia on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.Now, on to Match 2...
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 20, 2018
Here are the teams for URUKSA @Uruguay @SaudiNT_EN pic.twitter.com/Jp3zCm61Ah
Uruguay disappointed against a rugged Egypt side in their first game, needing a late header from Jose Gimenez to seal the win and veteran coach Oscar Tavarez is expected to make changes with Carlos Sanchez and 'Cebolla' Rodriguez expected to start.
Rodriguez is an excellent provider, while Sanchez is a box-to-box midfielder with a habit of getting into the rival penalty area at the right time, and the pair should give more punch to a side which struggled to create chances against Egypt as Luis Suarez looked heavy and off the pace.
As well as boosting his options in front of goal, Tavarez's changes mean he will have seven players aged 30 or more in his starting 11 ( Fernando Muslera (32), Diego Godin (32), Martin Caceres (31), Carlos Sanchez (33), Cristian Rodriguez (32), Luis Suarez (31) y Edinson Cavani (31)); and in theory Uruguay should be too strong for Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia preview: Saudi Arabia landed here after a frightening journey in which one of the engines on the aircraft which flew them in from Saint Petersburg caught fire.
The Saudi players were strongly criticised for their performance in their 0-5 defeat to Russia in their opening match in the World Cup, with one top official accusing them of making "just 5 per cent effort."
Saudi Arabia enjoyed 60 per cent possession against Russia but failed to have a single shot on target and were pulled apart on the break. It remains to be seen whether this was due to 'stage fright' caused by meeting the pumped-up hosts (and their fervent fans) in the first game of the tournament, or from a lack of quality and concentration.
Coach Pizzi now has the task of ensuring his players focus on a game where anything other than a win will mean they suffer the ignominy of being one of the first teams to be knocked out of the tournament. And after becoming Saudi Arabia's third first-team coach in a three-month spell when he was appointed in November last year, he also knows what the price of failure is likely to be.
An omen?
This will be a make-or-break game for Saudis against Uruguay after a frightening flight from their training ground in St Peterburg.
The Saudi plane landed safely here after an incident in which their plane caught fire during the flight, with a video showing flames coming from beneath one of the wings.
The airline Rossiya said the first cause of the problem had been a bird-strike on one of the engines, but that both had been in perfect working order on landing here.
On landing, the Saudis posted photos of the team getting off the plane and confirmed: "all the Saudi national team players are safe, after a technical failure in one of the aeroplane engines that has just landed in Rostov-on-Don airport".
Although the plane landed safely, it is not the perfect way to start preparations for a game the Saudi Arabians have to win on Wednesday in order to avoid an early exit from the competition following their 0-5 defeat to Russia in the opening match of the World Cup.
Players have their say
Saudi midfielder Taisir Al-Jassim ensures the fans that his team still has a chance despite the lopsided result against the hosts, and that they are determined to show Saudi football in its proper light. "Now we join hands for the next game", said Al-Jassim.
Uruguay's Jose Gimenez, whose late goal delivered victory for his team over Egypt in their opener, says that his team know how to adapt their game to an opponent desperate for a victory. "We know how to be defensive", said Gimenez.
Trivia: If Luis Suarez can find the net against Saudi Arabia, he will become his country's joint-second top scorer at the FIFA World Cup, together with his 2010 strike partner Diego Forlan.
Groups
With Russia's 3-1 win over Egypt in Saint Petersburg, this is how the standings look in Group A ahead of the match between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. The hosts are not yet qualified for the Round of 16, but they are well positioned to do so.
Uruguay squad in Fifa World Cup 2018:
Goalkeepers: Martin Campana (Independiente), Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Martin Silva (Vasco da Gama).
Defenders: Martin Caceres (Lazio), Sebastian Coates (Sporting), Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Maximiliano Pereira (Porto), Gaston Silva (Independiente), Guillermo Varela (Penarol).
Midfielders: Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Cruzeiro), Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus), Diego Laxalt (Genoa), Nahitan Nandez (Boca Juniors), Cristian Rodriguez (Penarol), Carlos Sanchez (Monterrey), Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria), Matias Vecino (Inter).
Forwards: Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain), Maximiliano Gomez (Celta Vigo), Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Cristhian Stuani (Girona), Jonathan Urretaviscaya (Monterrey).
Saudi Arabia in Fifa World Cup 2018:
Goalkeepers: Assaf Al-Qarny, Mohammed Al-Owais, Yasser Al-Musailem, Abdullah Al-Mayuf.
Defenders: Mansoor Al-Harbi, Yasser Al-Shahrani, Mohammed Al-Breik, Saeed Al-Mowalad, Motaz Hawsawi, Osama Hawsawi, Omar Hawsawi, Mohammed Jahfali, Ali Al-Bulaihi.
Midfielders: Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Abdulmalek Al-Khaibri, Abdullah Otayf, Taiseer Al-Jassim, Houssain Al-Mogahwi, Salman Al-Faraj, Nawaf Al-Abed, Mohamed Kanno, Hattan Bahebri, Mohammed Al-Kwikbi, Salem Al-Dawsari, Yehya Al-Shehri.
Forwards: Fahad Al-Muwallad, Mohammad Al-Sahlawi, Muhannad Assiri.
When and where to watch:
The match will be telecasted live in English on SONY TEN 2, in Hindi on SONY TEN 3 and in Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu on SONY ESPN.
Time: 8.30 PM IST
For live streaming, the match can be streamed at sonyliv.com