Uruguay take on the visitors Ecuador in the round 10 match of South American World Cup qualification. The match will be played on Wednesday, October 16th at Estadio Centenario (Montevideo).
Uruguay is facing a challenging situation with their squad. The "Charrúas" managed to lure Marcelo Bielsa to the head coach position before the start of the current cycle. Things started off well enough: last fall, they won four matches and collected 13 points, though their only defeat came against Ecuador. However, problems arose during Copa América, including a brawl with opposing fans after losing to Colombia. As a result, half a dozen players received suspensions, and not all of them will be cleared to return for the next match—although Darwin Núñez had his suspension lifted and is allowed to play. Uruguay did manage to snatch the bronze medal in the U.S. tournament, thanks to a late penalty goal and a successful shootout. But the hero of that match, Luis Suárez, who retired from international football last month, publicly accused Bielsa of "dividing the team," and Valverde partially agreed with him. The atmosphere is far from ideal, especially considering that the September matches against Paraguay and Venezuela ended in draws, and they even lost to Peru.
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The "Tricolors" made a return to the World Cup after a break, competing in Qatar in 2022. However, they were docked three points for fielding a player in the last qualifying cycle who had been naturalized with forged documents—even though it was the player himself who committed the fraud. They managed to recover from that penalty last fall, winning three out of six matches, drawing twice, and only losing to Argentina. At Copa América, they made it to the playoffs by preventing Mexico, the group favorite, from advancing. They even held Argentina to a draw, only losing in a penalty shootout—not surprising, given Argentina’s penalty expert goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez. This fall, Ecuador narrowly lost to Brazil but then beat Peru 1-0 thanks to an Enner Valencia goal. No one could score against Paraguay, though.
In the last seven meetings, the home team has always won. The "Charrúas" are considered favorites, but both teams are currently not very prolific in terms of scoring, even by their standards. The recommended bet is on "total goals under 2.0."
Prediction for the match: Under 2.0 scored goals.
