The history between Uruguay and Egypt in football is marked by significant moments, especially in the FIFA World Cup. Here's a detailed look at their encounters, key players, and Uruguay's overall World Cup legacy.
A Thrilling World Cup Encounter
In a thrilling encounter at the Ekaterinburg Arena, Uruguay defeated Egypt with a late goal. Uruguay's José Giménez powered home an unstoppable header off a free kick in the 90th minute, giving Uruguay a 1-0 win and restoring the balance of Group A.
The Uruguayan team, comprising big names including Diego Godín, Edinson Cavani, and Luis Suárez, found it difficult to get past an Egyptian side that looked like playing the game with purpose right from the beginning.
The African side did well to prevent the deadly duo of Cavani and Suárez from combining together almost throughout the match. And when the duo eventually did on a couple of occasions, goalkeeper Mohamed Al Shenawy stood firm in their way, denying both Suárez and Cavani once each with sublime saves.
At the very end, Sanchez’s formidable curling free-kick was well-received by Giménez on his head, and he did the rest by guiding the ball to the right-corner of the net, and Uruguayan fans erupted in joy. The final minute header from J Gimenez helps Uruguay get three points against an inspired Egypt that kept the formidable Uruguayan attack in check for the most part of the match.
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A draw would have been massive for the Egyptians, but Egypt thought it had it, that much is clear. The Pharoahs, as the Egyptian side is known, put up an impressive show in defence and in the midfield but lacked conviction every time they were in Uruguay’s penalty area.
The Egyptians missed their star campaigner Mohamed Salah, who did not feature in the game even as a substitute. Hence, the Uruguayan goalie had an easy day on field as he was rarely tested by the opposition that lacked good attacking options.
Yet, the Egyptian side did not offer a cakewalk to the Uruguayans. “The team that has defeated the best of the teams in America and Europe comfortably are suddenly finding it difficult to get through the Egyptian defence,” said the commentator.
Salah's Absence and Egypt's Strategy
Salah, who suffered a shoulder injury that forced him out of the Champions League final three weeks ago, was supposed to be 100 percent fit to play in the World Cup, but Egyptian coach Héctor Cúper apparently thought his star could benefit from a few more days of rest. It’s understandable that Cúper might have fudged those numbers a little bit.
The Egyptians missed their star campaigner Mohamed Salah-even as their coach had assured he would “100% play” before the match. However, Salah did not feature in the game even as a substitute. Hence, the Uruguayan goalie had an easy day on field as he was rarely tested by the opposition that lacked good attacking options.
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Uruguay's World Cup Legacy
This is a record of Uruguay's results at the FIFA World Cup. Uruguay have won four FIFA-organized World Football Championships. (But FIFA recognizes the 1924 and 1928 wins by Uruguay).
Since 1924 marked the beginning of true international football competition, organized by FIFA, FIFA recognizes Uruguay as two time world champions and allows the team to wear two stars on their uniforms during official international football competitions.
They won the first World Championship organized by FIFA under the Olympic Committee umbrella with true representation from all continents; before then, football in the Olympics comprised only European teams. Uruguay then won the next two World Cups (Jules Rimet Trophy) in which they participated; these tournaments, the 1930 and 1950 FIFA World Cups, were fully independent from the Olympics and employed clear rules distinguishing professional and amateur football players.
Uruguay hosted and won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final. They won their second and last title in 1950, upsetting host Brazil 2-1 in the final match.
The team have qualified for fourteen World Cups, reaching the second round in ten, the semi-finals five times, and the final twice. They also won the gold medal in Olympic football twice, in 1924 and 1928, before the creation of the World Cup.
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Uruguay won the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament comprising former World Cup champions hosted in Uruguay to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first World Championship.
Uruguay refused to participate in 1934 and defend their title because many European nations declined to take part in 1930 held in Uruguay.
There was no official World Cup final match in 1950. The tournament winner was decided by a final round-robin group contested by four teams (Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden, and Spain). However, Uruguay's 2-1 victory over Brazil (a match known as Maracanazo) was the decisive match which put them ahead on points and ensured that they finished top of the group as world champions. Therefore, this match is often considered the "final" of the 1950 World Cup.
Uruguay's "Ugly" Wins
They say that great teams find ways to win ugly. Uruguay, it seems, only manages to win ugly, and they are experts at breaking hearts in the process. Each of Uruguay’s past five World Cup wins, dating back to the 2010 World Cup, has come either on penalties or via a goal scored in the 80th minute or later.
In 2014, after losing to Costa Rica in their opener, it beat England on an 85th minute Suárez goal and Italy on an 81st minute Diego Godín goal. In 2010, it beat South Korea on another late Suárez goal, then eliminated Ghana in the quarterfinals after Suárez stuck a hand out to save a last-minute goal-bound shot, earning himself a red card and his team a chance to win the game on penalties.
Somehow this is one of Suárez’s least-heinous on-field controversies. Even Suárez found a way to contribute in the end, suffering a foul in the dying moments of stoppage time, falling, catching himself, then lunging headfirst into an Egyptian and falling again, clutching his head. For his trouble he earned an Egyptian yellow card and bled a few more precious seconds off the clock. The whole thing was ugly.
Current Form and Team News
Uruguay head to Russia on the back of just one defeat in their last nine games. In those games, the South Americans have kept an impressive six clean sheets and have won their last three games. Interestingly, Oscar Tabarez's side opted to play just one warm-up match before the tournament, beating Uzbekistan 3-0.
Uruguay may have Luis Suarez as their marquee player, but Edinson Cavani will be looking to continue his impressive scoring record for his country. The Paris Saint-Germain star scored ten goals in the 18 qualifying games for Uruguay.
Egypt will start their World Cup campaign in poor form after failing to win their last six games. A 3-0 defeat by Belgium in their last game means that the seven-time African champions will not be high on confidence when playing in Friday's early kick off.
Previous Encounter
The two countries have only played once in their history and that came in a 2006 friendly at the Alexandria Stadium in Egypt, where goals from Uruguay defender Diego Godín and an own goal from Egyptian defender Abdelzaher El Saqqa was enough for the South Americans to seal a comfortable win.
Potential Lineups
- Uruguay (4-4-2): Muslera, Gaston Silva, Giménez, Godín, Caceres, Cristian Rodriguez, Bentancur, Vecino, Laxalt, Suraez, Cavani.
- Egypt (4-2-3-1): El Hadary, Abdel-Shafy, Ali Gabr, Hegazi, Fathy, Abdallah Said, El Neny, Hamed, Warda, Sobhi, Salah.
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