World Cup Qatar | Uruguay vs South Korea - Nov 24 | 13:00 UTC

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Game info Uruguay vs South Korea

 

After three consecutive World Cups under the direction of 'El Maestro' Oscar Tabárez, Uruguay makes its debut at the Qatar World Cup this Thursday, November 24, with a new coach at the head of its bench. Diego Alonso will be in charge of Celeste in the meeting with South Korea.

 

The match, which will take place at Education City stadium, is the first of Group H, the last to have its dispute open in the 2022 World Cup. The start of the duel is scheduled for 13:00 UTC.

 

How does the 2022 Qatar World Cup work?

 

The World Cup in Qatar will be the last to be played with 32 teams. As of the 2026 World Cup, shared by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the number of participants will jump to 4. Thus, it will be the last time the format with eight groups of four teams will be used. Teams play against each other in a single shift in this first phase.

 

The top two finishers in each bracket survive to the next stage. From then on, in a single elimination game, the finalists will be defined. In the case of equality, the extra time and penalty kicks can be used to describe who advances.

 

Uruguay performance

Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva, 75, spent 15 years in charge of the Uruguay national team. There were 173 games and three world cups. He had contracted for the fourth World Cup. However, a sequence of four defeats in the South American Qualifiers for Qatar 2022 prevented him from being able to complete his mission. The threat of the team staying out of the tournament meant it was dismissed, opening up the opportunity for Diego Alonso, 47.

 

With the young coach, Celeste rediscovered its best path. He won the last four matches of the qualifiers, guaranteeing Uruguay one of the direct places in South America in Qatar in 2022. After the period of turbulence, he had five friendlies to put his ideas into practice concerning the strategy.

 

Won three wins. It overcame Mexico (3-0), Paraná (1-0), and Canada (2-0). It drew with the United States (0-0) and was only defeated in the meeting with the Iranian team (0-0). The team took the field for the last time in September. In the final stretch of preparation, Alonso's option was not to play friendlies. He stayed only in training. He even got scared. Darwin Nuñez, the star striker in a millionaire transfer from Benfica to Liverpool, suffered an ankle injury. However, he was nothing more than a scare. He is available for the debut duel. Still in doubt is Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo, recovering from a muscle injury.

 

South Korea performance

South Korea's opener at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is shrouded in mystery. He is primarily the most important player on the team. Striker Heung-Min Son, the team's captain, is recovering from a broken face. He stayed out of the last three matches for his club, Tottenham, in England. Even so, he was summoned and presented with an injury.

 

However, since he joined the South Korean roster, no further information about the recovery process has been given. Thus, it is not certain that he will be on the pitch against Uruguay. If he is released for the match, he may need to perform with a protective mask. While this is the biggest problem, there are others.

 

Defender Jin-Su Kim and midfielder Hee-Chan Hwang, both with muscle problems, are under the care of the medical department. Like what he did with Son, Coach Paulo Bento also prohibited disclosing information regarding the athletes' recovery process. In this way, it is also not known what the possibility of being used in the meeting with Uruguay. Korea played its last friendly before the World Cup on November 11. They beat Iceland 1-0. Min-Kyu Song scores in the 33rd minute of the first half.

 

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