How Uruguay reached the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals; team stats, key players, tactics

Topics: FIFA World Cup, Uruguay, Oscar Tabárez, Luis Suárez, Edinson Cavani

'Los charrúas' represent the only Spanish-speaking team with options to win the World Cup title. Let's have a look at what they did to get here.

The Uruguayan National Team lives one of their best moments in recent history, and they will want to make it count to reach the World Cup final. With a mix of young and experienced players available, Oscar Tabárez's side has emerged as quite a threat for those teams still in the competition, as well as one of the strongest candidates to the FIFA World Cup title.

Led by strikers Edinson Cavani and Luis Suárez, the South American side gets to their quarter final match having won all of their previous games, and this article will give you a good idea on how they got to this stage and what sort of problems they could give to their opponents in this round or in the next couple of games, if they can get past France next Friday.

Uruguay at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Games: 4

Wins: 4

Goals scored: 7

Goals conceded: 1

Top scorer: Edinson Cavani (3 goles)

Scores: Uruguay 1-0 Saudi Arabia, Egypt 0-1 Uruguay, Uruguay 3-0 Russia, Uruguay 2-1 Portugal.

Key stats

4 - #Uruguay have won 4 consecutive games in a #WorldCup tournament for the first time since 1930, when they won the first title ever. Joy. https://t.co/dlAYJpDIiD
— OptaJavier (@OptaJavier) June 30, 2018

Edinson Cavani answers to give #URU a 2-1 lead. It's his 5th career #WorldCup goal, tied for 4th-most in #URU history.

He is the 10th #URU player with a multi-goal game at the #WorldCup, and 5th to do so in the knockout stage. pic.twitter.com/9fMWyfCIxS
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 30, 2018

Formation

Uruguay's boss works with a 4-4-2 formation. Tabárez's men are instructed to keep balance all over the pitch, with Matias Vecino and Rodrigo Bentancur calling the shots in midfield. Both flanks are equally important for their boss, since their various alternatives provide goalscoring chances to their top-caliber strikers: Edinson Cavani and Luis Suárez.

Key players

Diego Godín - He's the main man in Uruguay's defense, and he's also the team's captain. His tough personality and leadership make him a key asset for Uruguay, and his aerial skills come in handy for Uruguay on both ends of the pitch, while making him one of the top 5 center backs in the world.

Matías Vecino - He has played more minutes than any of Uruguay's midfielders in this competition. Inter Milan's man has made a name for himself as a box-to-box midfielder, capable of stopping the opponents' attack and providing through balls for their strikers.

Edinson Cavani -"El Matador" is living one of his finest moments as a professional. His experience against Ligue 1 sides will be useful to his coach, and considering that he's been deadly in front of goal during this competition, Uruguay could have a hard time replacing him if he can't recover from an injury he picked up against Portugal last weekend.

Luis Suárez - This man needs no introduction, but he really needs to step up his game. His goalscoring skills are something else, but he has to show them to the world if he wants Uruguay to make it to the semis. If Cavani can't recover, he will be the go-to guy for Uruguay, especially due to the fact that "El Pistolero" could make history if he can score one more goal in this competition.