Defeat in their opening match has Uruguay and England desperate for a victory on Thursday in Sao Paulo. Both managers could be facing elimination, but who will manage to come out on top?
Uruguay came into the tournament as a squad that could potentially cause a lot of problems for their opposition. In their opening match against Costa Rica, they actually took the lead from the penalty-spot, but a persistent Costa Rican side was able to overcome the early deficit.
Poor marking on the defensive end, coupled with a possible offside that was not called dictated a shock defeat for La Celeste. Oscar Tabarez will now need to decide if Luis Suarez is finally fit enough to make the start against England.
The Liverpool striker had to undergo knee surgery after the Premier League campaign, which put his presence at the World Cup in jeopardy. He was available on the bench against Costa Rica, but it appears that he will lead the Uruguay attack against an English side that he knows very well.
With defeat not an option for either country, Suarez and his teammates will have to put together a much better performance than they did against Los Ticos.
On the opposite end of the pitch, Luis Suarez’s teammate Daniel Sturridge will be looking to do the same for the Three Lions.
Sturridge put in a positive performance against Italy, and even grabbed a goal, but Roy Hodgson’s side were not able to overcome an experienced Italian outfit.
“We don’t like to cheat to win,” said Sturridge when asked about Luis Suarez’s red card in the 2010 World Cup, which resulted in Uruguay going through after Ghana’s Gyan missed the penalty kick.
“I’m going to do anything in my power to win this game, provided it’s within the rules of the game, but I’m not going to dive and I’m not going to handball a goal shot because it’s not in my nature.”
Coming away with at least a point will keep both their hopes alive, but they would certainly prefer the full three points. Two very talented sides that failed to impress in their opening match will now be put to the test. It will be interesting to see if England will be able to take advantage of being familiar with Luis Suarez, or if that will be more of an advantage for the South American goal scorer.
Where to watch this match - live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
Watch Uruguay vs England live on Thursday, June 19, 2014:
In Canada at 15:00 ET on: TSN 1260 Edmonton, TEAM 1410 Vancouver, Univision Canada, TSN 1050 Toronto, ICI Radio-Canada En Direct, CBC, TSN 690 Montreal, Radio Canada - CBC, CBC Sports Live Streaming, Mediaset Italia
In the UK at 20:00 BST on: STV Scotland, TalkSport Radio, ITV 1 UK, BBC Radio 5 Live, The ITV Player, UTV
In the USA at 15:00 ET on: Univision Deportes USA, SiriusXM FC, ESPN3 Online-App, WATCH ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, AFN Sports, ESPN, Univision USA, Univision Deportes En Vivo
For viewers who are outside these countries, please visit the Uruguay vs England match page for full TV listings.
