Uruguay must beat Cape Verde after Saudi Arabia slip

Must-win against Cape Verde on Sunday

Uruguay 1–1 Saudi Arabia in the Group H opener, and that changes the math completely (3). Your team go into Cape Verde on Sunday needing three points, no way around it.

Miami's Hard Rock Stadium will feel nothing like a home match, Bielsa's side have to impose themselves from the first whistle. The lineup remains unsettled. Ole reports Marcelo Bielsa is weighing changes, with Manuel Ugarte likely to keep his spot in midfield after a solid shift against the Saudis (1).

Predicted XI, per 101 Great Goals: Rochet; Nández, Giménez, Olivera, Viña; Valverde, Ugarte, Bentancur; Pellistri, Núñez, Araújo (2). Darwin Núñez starts up top. The forward has been given full focus with the national team despite noise about a Liverpool return.

The opener was not good enough

A draw against Saudi Arabia leaves Uruguay chasing the group (3). José María Giménez, in his fourth World Cup, looked like a man fighting his own battle. The Atlético Madrid defender had a tough season in Spain, and the Saudi goal exposed gaps Bielsa cannot afford to repeat.

Bielsa called himself "a generator of tension" after that 5–1 friendly loss to the United States last November. The question now is whether that tension pushes Uruguay forward or fractures the group. Cape Verde will answer that on Sunday.

The table will not wait

Group H is wide open. Saudi Arabia's point from the Uruguay draw gives them a foothold, and Cape Verde will not roll over, they know a result against Uruguay puts them in contention. Your team need to win, and ideally with conviction, because goal difference may settle this group.

Bielsa's vertical football creates chances. The opener proved it also creates vulnerability. Cape Verde on Sunday is about which version of this Uruguay shows up.