Uruguay and South Korea kick off knockout round of World Cup

Uruguay and South Korea will kick off the knockout stage of the 2010 World Cup at Port Elizabeth Stadium in Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth on June 26. Uruguay topped Group A with a draw against France (0-0) then wins over host nation South Africa (3-0) and Mexico (1-0). South Korea finished second in Group B after beating Greece (2-0), losing to Argentina (4-1) and drawing with Nigeria (2-2).

South Korea seemed to peak in their first game, the 2-0 win over Greece and then slowly slid backwards while Uruguay looked to play better and with more confidence with each game. However, the past is the past and all of the talk from the managers and players means nothing now as everything is settled on the pitch.

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Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan are a formidable striking partnership and have caused problems for defenders in all three of their games. However, what may be the most impressive statistic for Uruguay is that they haven’t let a goal in the competition yet. Goaltender Fernando Muslera of Italian club Lazio has stopped everything that’s come his way so far and the back for are playing solid and getting help from the rest of the team when needed.

Defenders Diego Lugano, Deigo Godin, and Maxi Pereira have all played well and when combined with the offence provided by Forlan and Suarez, it looks like Uruguay may be too polished for their Asian opponents, especially considering the Koreans let in six goals in three games, four of them coming against Argentina in their 4-1 loss though. But let’s not forget the Koreans also proved they could find the back of the net on a regular basis as they also scored five times. The Koreans have been led by defender Lee Jung Soo with two goals and midfielder Park Ji Sung has been impressive as well with one.

It would be fair to say South Korea’s strong point has been their scoring, while the weak spot has been their defending. But South Korea possesses plenty of speed and are in tip top shape and this could cause a bit of a problem for the South American side, who generally prefer a slightly slower-paced game.

The Koreans prefer to force the action while Uruguay seems to take a wait-and-see approach. If South Korea can utilize their speed and fitness and keep the pressure on Uruguay without giving them time to settle on the ball, they have a good chance wining this game. Uruguay may be too dependent on Forlan and Suarez and if they are marked well or have an off game, the team could be in trouble.

Odds and Predictions

Look for South Korea to grab the opportunity when it presents itself and work their way to a 2-1 win in this game. However, it might take them extra time to do it.

The two teams have met five times with Uruguay winning four of them and drawing the other.

The odds favour Uruguay in this one as BetUS has the odds of them winning at 9/10. South Korea is listed at 15/4 to win, with the odds of a draw after 90 minutes being 11/5.

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