Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia
- When: Wednesday 20 June
- Kick-off time: 4pm
- Where: Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
- TV channel: live on BBC One
The Barcelona forward struggled to make an impact in Uruguay’s opening match against Egypt, which they won 1-0, and will hope to hit form against a struggling Saudi side.
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The Saudis were beaten 5-0 by host nation Russia in the opening match of the World Cup and may find it hard to contain a Uruguay attack featuring Suarez and Edinson Cavani.
Goal.com predicts Uruguay will “run riot” at the Rostov Arena. Al Hain-Cole writes: “While Suarez in particular looked far from top form [against Egypt], the prospect of him and Cavani taking on this opposition defence is rather frightening. The Saudis seemed completely incapable of containing a relatively modest Russian outfit last week, lacking defensive shape and any answer to high balls into the box.”
It’s been a tough week for the Saudi squad. As well as the heavy defeat against Russia they also had issues with their flight to Rostov-on-Don when their plane’s engine caught fire.
Team news
Both nations have their full 23-man squads available to choose from, says Sports Illustrated, while The Daily Telegraph reports that Saudi coach Juan Antonio Pizzi could make a number of changes after the 5-0 thumping by Russia.
Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia predicted starting XIs
How the two teams could line up at the Rostov Arena, according to Fifa.com.
- Uruguay (4-4-2): Fernando Muslera; Guillermo Varela, Jose Maria Gimenez, Diego Godin, Martin Caceres; Nahitan Nandez, Matias Vecino, Rodrigo Bentancur, Cristian Rodriguez; Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani
- Saudi Arabia (4-5-1): Mohammed Alowais; Mohammed Alburayk, Osama Hawsawi, Ali Albulayhi, Yasser Alshahrani; Salem Aldawsari, Abdullah Otayf, Salman Alfaraj, Taiseer Aljassam, Yahia Alshehri; Fahad Almuwallad
Group A results, fixtures and live TV channels
- Russia 5 Saudi Arabia 0
- Egypt 0 Uruguay 1
- 19 June: Russia vs. Egypt (7pm, BBC)
- 20 June: Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia (4pm, BBC)
- 25 June: Uruguay vs. Russia (3pm, ITV); Saudi Arabia vs. Egypt (3pm, ITV4)
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