The wounded England’s needed to do to win a match, Uruguay challenging but not like 4 years ago Wayne Rooney the key player today.
It is ‘critical time’ for England as a win would eliminate group favourites Uruguay but a loss would send Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson’s roster for a very early holiday.
Wayne Rooney is expected to start again albeit complaints regarding his performance against Italy and rumours from certain sections of the media which supported that he was training with the reserves. The Manchester United striker said that he was just putting more effort into practice.
The Three Lions showed some positive signs at last week’s defeat as Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling both put on an excellent performance. The England manager is fortunate enough to have no injury concerns and has had good news at practice as Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain trained with the team for a short while.
Uruguay are looking to erase their shocking 3-1 defeat to underdogs Costa Rica and are hoping to count on Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, who has declared himself fit for Thursday’s showdown. If Suarez does not start, then manager Oscar Tabarez will be looking for the 2010 top player Diego Forlan to fill in the void and much will be expected by Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani.
The Celeste will be missing the services of defender Maxi Pereira who was sent off last week.
England vs Uruguay Match Stats
Last time those two sides met at the World Cup, was in 1966 where the Three Lions got a goalless draw at the competition’s opener and went on to win the entire competition at home.
Both teams have squared off 10 times where England have won three of the exchange and lost four.
Needless to say, Wayne Rooney has yet to score a World Cup goal. The Manchester United striker’s spell has now been extended to 684 minutes.
Frank Lampard holds a negative record of most shots without a goal, which is worse than any other player at the World Cup finals since 1966. The Chelsea legend has picked up 39 shots but no goals.
England have only lost three of their last 17 World Cup matches and have won seven – excluding the penalty shoot-out defeats.
England vs Uruguay Key Matchups
England’s wingers vs. Uruguay’s fullbacks – Uruguay have a couple of world class strikers up front, though they’re extremely flimsy across their back four. That includes their fullbacks Martín Cáceres and Maxi Pereira’s likely replacement Jorge Fucile, who could struggle against England’s pacey, direct wingers. Expect Danny Welbeck and Raheem Sterling to cause problems out wide, particularly if they’re given space on the counter-attack.
England’s possession vs. Uruguay’s deep defensive line – Uruguay are horribly lacking in creativity in their midfield, with neither of their central players, Walter Gargano and Egidio Arévalo Ríos, particularly adept at passing. Gargano is a little more mobile than the older Ríos, but expect both to mostly sit deep and protect their back line, looking to deny Wayne Rooney space between the lines. That means England will have to work hard to find room, and make runs to try and drag them out of position.
England’s defence vs. Uruguay’s direct passing– Unless Nicolás Lodeiro comes into the side, Uruguay lack a real playmaker in the centre of the pitch, meaning they rely on long balls up to their strikers and a high workrate from their wingers to take the ball into the final third of the pitch. If England can deal with these threats, they’ll be able to shut down what is a pretty average team. They should look to press Uruguay’s central midfielders hard and hurry their passes, safe in the knowledge they should always have a spare man in the centre.
England vs Uruguay Possible Lineups
England (4-2-3-1): Joe Hart; Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill, Glen Johnson; Jordan Henderson, Steven Gerrard; Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney, Raheem Sterling; Daniel Sturridge.
Uruguay (4-4-2): Fernando Muslera; Martín Cáceres, Diego Godín, Sebastián Coates, Jorge Fucile; Cristian Rodríguez, Walter Gargano, Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Christian Stuani; Luís Suárez, Edinson Cavani.
Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo
Kick-off: 20.00 BST.
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
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