In a virtual must-win for both teams, Uruguay clashes with England on Thursday in a match that could boil down to the controversial superstars on both sides: Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney.
Both players understand what’s on the line. A loss and it’s the end of their country’s World Cup dreams. In what is being called the “Champions group”, both Uruguay and England currently find themselves in the basement of the difficult group D.
Four years ago, Uruguay made a surprising push all the way to the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. If they want to build off the momentum of their last World Cup experience, they will need the help of Liverpool striker, and one of the top soccer players in the world, Luis Suarez. Suarez is coming off knee surgery performed less than a month ago, and was unable to go in Uruguay’s opening round defeat to Costa Rica 3-1.
With comparisons to the great New York Knicks hall of famer, Willis Reed, floating around social media in their first match, Suarez was seen warming up on the sidelines when his team fell down 2-1. However Uruguay coach, Oscar Tabarez, quickly squashed the hopes of the injured star coming into the game by not allowing Suarez to sub into the match. However, Thursday’s contest proves to be a different story. With Uruguay’s World Cup fate on the line, Suarez has declared himself physically fit to play and is expected to start against England.
Suarez netted 31 goals in his season with Liverpool this year which ranked him second amongst all scorers in England’s top flight. He will need the help of his national teammates Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavali if Uruguay wants to beat England.
Uruguay is expected to be without veteran back Diego Lugano who is listed as not fit to play with a knee injury.
England lost their group D opener in Manaus 2-1 to Italy. Despite not getting a result, England came away with from the match with many positives that they should be able to build off of. Young Brit’s, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge played extremely well and out ran Italian defenders in droves during the game. Sturridge, scored his third goal in just his fourth appearance with England during the match.
On the other side of the coin, is England’s star, Wayne Rooney. Rooney has yet to score a goal in a World Cup game. Thursday’s match vs. Uruguay will mark his 10th World Cup game with the Three Lions. Despite the criticism and public cries of his benching, Rooney appeared to be very effective in the match vs. Italy. Tallying his first ever World Cup point with an assist to Sturridge, and creating multiple opportunities on the wing for both himself and his teammates.
England’s coach Roy Hodgson is rumored to be contemplating switching Rooney to center or not starting his No.10 altogether for the match. Make no mistake about it however, Rooney is the best and most experienced player the Three Lions have on the team and if they want to beat Uruguay they will need him on the pitch.
The game is set to kick off at 3:00PM EST at the Arena de Sao Paulo in Sao Paolo, Brazil. It can be seen on ESPN and in Spanish on Univision. If you want to live stream the match, simply go to WatchESPN here and here for a live stream in Spanish. The match should be extremely entertaining as two former champions and national powerhouses collide with everything on the line.
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