Egypt vs Uruguay: 5 Talking Points, World Cup 2018

#1 Uruguay’s midfield struggle

Bentancur and other Uruguayan midfielders looked lost on the pitch today

Despite Uruguay’s outstanding quality in attack, their midfield has been highlighted as a weak point. In a 4-4-2 formation, they’re set up with just two central midfielders and two classic wide midfielders. Today, Juventus’ Rodrigo Bentancur and Inter Milan’s Matias Vecino played centrally, while Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Nahitan Nandez occupied the flanks.

4-4-2 is their natural formation because Suarez and Cavani both have to play due to their prolific goalscoring records. However, it leaves them with a predicament in midfield.

Today, that was glaringly clear, as the team struggled to move the ball forward and into their two world-class forwards. Bentancur and Vecino’s reluctance to move the ball forward meant Suarez and Cavani had to feed off scraps and create the few chances they did for themselves.

As well as that, when in advanced positions, both De Arrascaeta and Nandez were slow in their decision making and were often forced back into central midfield. This then led to both of their withdrawals, as they were replaced with just over 30 minutes to play.

It was evident that Uruguay were finding it difficult to break down a strong defensive unit. This was only Egypt, it’s likely they’re going to face much better defensive sides than this, and that’s where they could come unstuck.

Although Uruguay were able to get across the line in the end and clinch the victory, some improvements will need to be made to their midfield play for them to progress past better opponents in the latter stages of the tournament.

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