La Celeste have advanced to the knockout stage in each of the last three World Cups, but their run to the 2010 semifinals remains their biggest recent accomplishment. Prior to their arrival in Qatar, Uruguay had lost only once under Diego Alonso—a 1–0 friendly loss to Iran in September—in nine matches, which includes seven wins.
Sadly, they have yet to record a win in two games at the World Cup. The South Americans drew with South Korea in their Group H opener before losing 2-0 to Portugal on Monday. The Otto Addo led Ghana side on the other hand, have won one and lost one and are placed second behind Portugal on the table. The West Africans only need to avoid defeat against Uruguay to secure a round of 16 berth.
Uruguay, meanwhile, has work to do in its finale against Ghana—a rematch of a heated 2010 quarterfinal, in which Luis Suárez’s intentional handball became an international incident, and wound up helping La Celeste reach the semifinals in South Africa.
Here are four key players of Uruguay Ghana must look out for;
Federico Valverde
The versatile midfielder has really come into his own for Real Madrid over the last year. And after starting in the Champions League final and taking home the trophy, Valverde has broken out with a career season. The 24-year-old already has set a career high for goals with eight in 18 matches this season and has become a critical part of Carlo Ancelotti’s setup. With the national team, Valverde can play on the wing, in defensive midfielder or even at fullback. His work rate is second to none, and his distribution will be key to feeding Uruguay’s attack.
Darwin Núñez
Darwin Núñez is a distinctive figure on any football pitch. His athletic frame – upright in posture, defined in shape, rangy in length – is his distinguishing feature. Not only does it differentiate, it disrupts and dominates too. Athleticism is the one truly extraordinary attribute that the striker boasts, and it is difficult to overstate just how effective it was in Portugal before joining Liverpool in the summer. Excellent acceleration and sprinting speed is the defining facet of his athletic skillset. Núñez has only scored once so far this year for Uruguay (in September’s 2–0 friendly win over Canada), but will be counted on to score his first World Cup goal against Ghana on Friday.
Edinson Cavani, forward
With 58 international goals, the iconic forward only trails Suárez (68) on Uruguay’s all-time goalscoring list. And, like Suárez, he is still heavily relied upon by La Celeste despite being 35-years-old and in the twilight of his career. Since joining La Liga side Valencia over the summer, Cavani has scored four goals in seven appearances, although his campaign has been interrupted by injuries, including an ankle problem that has affected him at the World Cup. Still, after scoring three of the nation’s seven goals in Russia, Cavani will be expected to shine on Friday.
Luis Suárez, forward
Despite his age, the 35-year-old striker is still a major part of this Uruguay team. Suárez finished second on the goalscoring charts in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying with eight goals en route to qualifying for his fourth World Cup. The former Barcelona and Liverpool star has scored seven goals in his World Cup career, one behind the Uruguayan record. After two years with Atlético Madrid, Suárez made the move back to Uruguay with Nacional, where he has scored eight goals in 14 appearances. He has yet to score in Qatar and would relish scoring his first goal against Ghana.
