Egypt VS Uruguay Match Prediction
2018-06-15
12:00:00
Egypt
VS
Uruguay
Our Prediction Tip
Uruguay will win this match.
2018-06-1512:00:00 Uruguay will win this match.
Egypt and Uruguay’s only previous meeting was a friendly in 2006, which Uruguay won 2-0 with current captain Diego Godin opening the scoring. This will be the fourth time Uruguay have met African opposition at the World Cup and they are yet to lose. They came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Senegal in 2002 (though still got knocked out of the group stage as a result), then beat hosts South Africa 3-0 in 2010 before defeating Ghana on penalties, after a 1-1 draw, in that same tournament.
Egypt’s most recent game against South American opposition saw them draw 0-0 with Colombia in a friendly at the start of the month.
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Egypt are without a win in their last six matches, drawing three and losing three since the win against Congo that confirmed their World Cup place
Uruguay have never lost to African opposition at the World Cup (one win, two draws)
Without Mo Salah, Egypt have scored just one goal in their last four games – he had scored four of their five previous goals before then
Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez have both scored four times in Uruguay’s last six matches – the only game neither of them were on the scoresheet was a goalless draw with Poland in November
Egypt were always underdogs for this fixture, even before Mo Salah got injured. His return is a major boost though – without their talismanic striker, they have failed to even score in three of their last four matches.
Compare that to Uruguay, who have Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez both in good goalscoring form. Between them they have eight goals in Uruguay’s last six matches and 93 in total for the national team.
Egypt showed in holding Colombia to a goalless draw – keeping Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez under wraps – that they can hold their own defensively, but with no obvious goalscorers in the team when Salah is missing, it is hard to see them having enough to cause an upset with their star man not fully fit.
Uruguay are also in good form, with three wins from their last three games – albeit not against any fellow World Cup qualifiers.
They are also at full strength, with their understated pre-tournament preparations matched by the lack of any dramas when it came to team selection.
Egypt may have a chance to qualify from Group A still, with Salah back for the key matches against Russia and Saudi Arabia, but Uruguay are favourites to top the group for a reason.
They have never lost to African opposition at the World Cup, and it would be a big shock – even with Salah returning – if Egypt were to break that sequence. Expect Uruguay to win, with Suarez and/or Cavani in the goals, and expect them to keep a clean sheet too.
Uruguay are odds-on favourites for their game in Yekaterinburg, with Bet365, Betfair and Betway all pricing a Uruguay win at 8/13.
Furthermore, Egypt have lacked goals without Mo Salah and you can bet against both teams to score at 8/15 with Betfair and Ladbrokes. Backing Uruguay to win to nil would be the better option, however, with Bet365, Betway and Ladbrokes all offering 6/5.
In Uruguay’s last six matches, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez have each scored four times and, unsurprisingly, are the favourites to score at any time in Friday’s Group A match.
Suarez takes penalties and so is priced slightly lower than his strike partner – he is a best price of 6/5 to score at any time with 888sport, while you can get the best price of 5/4 from Bet365 on Edinson Cavani finding the net.
1) Uruguay to win to nil at 6/5 with Betway
2) Luis Suarez to score at any time at 6/5 with 888sports
3) Edinson Cavani to score at any time at 5/4 with Bet365
With no win in six games, and the likelihood of their star striker not being fully fit, it is hard to see Egypt scoring, let alone upsetting the odds to beat Uruguay. Egypt were solid defensively against Colombia in their pre-tournament friendly, but then shipped three against Belgium – and with Uruguay boasting Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez up front, the South Americans should start their campaign with a comfortable win.
Star player Mo Salah was a major doubt after dislocating his shoulder in the Champions League final, playing for Liverpool against Real Madrid. Team doctors initially warned he would need more time to recover, but Egypt confirmed he would feature in the first game after he returned to training on Wednesday. With Salah out, Marwan Mohsen has played as a lone striker in Egypt’s most recent pre-tournament friendlies, and Salah will likely replace him if he does start against Uruguay. Elsewhere, goalkeeper Essam El Hadary is set to make history – the 45-year-old will become the oldest ever World Cup player if he features.
Mo Salah is undoubtedly Egypt’s star player, and you can understand the desperation for the Liverpool man – who won PFA Player of the Year and the Premier League golden boot last season – to play. Should he miss out, Egypt will need their other Premier League players to step up if they are to contain Uruguay’s threat. Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny is the most notable of those. In defence, West Brom centre-back Ahmed Hegazi will be tasked with marking Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez.
After securing World Cup qualification, Egypt team impressed in a narrow friendly defeat to Portugal in March – Mo Salah looked to have scored the winning goal before Cristiano Ronaldo’s stoppage-time double consigned Egypt to a 2-1 defeat. Since then, however, Egypt have managed just one goal in four games in Salah’s absence. He sat out of the 1-0 loss to Greece and has been out injured for the 1-1 draw with Kuwait, 0-0 draw with Colombia and 3-0 defeat to Belgium that have constituted Egypt’s pre-tournament friendlies.
Uruguay have kept things simple in their World Cup warm-ups, playing just one friendly since winning the China Cup in March, when they beat Uzbekistan in Montevideo before travelling to Russia. Martin Caceres, who missed the China Cup through injury, returned for that game, while Cristian Rodriguez - who was only a second-half substitute against Uzbekistan - is likely to start against Egypt too.
Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez make up one of the most high-profile striking partnerships at the World Cup. Both scored to fire Uruguay to China Cup victory, while Cavani was the top scorer in South American qualifying. He has 42 international goals in 101 appearances, while Suarez – who needs to score three in Russia to level the national record for World Cup goals - has 51 from 98 games. Diego Godin captains the team, meanwhile - the experienced Atletico Madrid defender scored when Uruguay last met Egypt and returns now as one of the most-capped players in the squad.
Uruguay football team go into the World Cup on the back of three consecutive wins, defeating the Czech Republic 2-0 and Wales 1-0 to win the China Cup in March before a 3-0 win against Uzbekistan in their only pre-tournament friendly. Edinson Cavani scored in both China Cup wins, while Luis Suarez scored his 50th international goal in the win against the Czechs, and made it 51 with a penalty last time out.
The second match in Group A, and second game of the 2018 FIFA World Cup sees Egypt take on two-time champions Uruguay at Yekaterinburg's Central Stadium on Friday June 15. The first competitive game between the two nations is also Egypt’s first at the World Cup since Italia 1990. The match kicks off at 5pm local time.
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