oceaniafootball.com is pleased to be bringing you an overview of the side as they seek to top the fourth place they managed in their only other Confederations Cup appearance to date at Saudi Arabia in 1997.
After losing 2-1 in their first match against Spain, Uruguay kept themselves in the race for the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory of their own over African champions Nigeria.
The side earned their tickets to Brazil when they won a record 15th Copa America title in 2011 with a 3-0 win against Paraguay in the final.
Uruguay talisman Diego Forlan, 34, celebrated his 100th caps in style by offering the potential of a semi-final spot when he scored the second goal against Nigeria, mirroring his display during the Copa America final in 2011. The former Inter Milan and Athletic o Madrid player scored twice to secure the trophy to La Celeste after 1983, 1987 and 2005.
“He won his 100th cap tonight and that is very important for him and it is a tribute to him that he has made it this far. The way he can use both feet, his ball control, he showcased his talents,” Oscar Tabarez said.
Forlan, the adidas Golden Ball winner at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, will once again be looking to guide his side to victory with his goal-scoring skills when his side take on the Tahitians, but at the same time admits he has a lot of respect for the side.
“Tahiti are like Venezuela, who used to concede lots of goals, but are now on course for Brazil 2014. Tahiti can make the same progress and they’ve already won their continental title,” Forlan said.
Uruguay is one of the major players in the world of football and are one of the few privileged countries to have won the FIFA World Cup. Their first World Cup was won in 1930 with the next one coming 20 years later.
The team has a lot of character. It is skippered by 32 year-old defender Diego Lugano, a player who helps bring the fighting spirit to Los Charrúas. He will be noticeably absent against Tahiti after cautions against both Spain and Nigeria mean he has to sit this encounter out.
“In football you need character to win and that’s something I’ve got,” the Malaga defender said.
Uruguay will be one final challenge for Tahiti at the Confederations Cup and everyone, especially Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez, will be expecting the Polynesians to be bringing their all to the match.
‘’Tahiti deserve plenty of respect and will provoke a lot of curiosity too – let’s see what role they’ll play,” Tabarez said.
Although he is not taking victory for granted, he admits that his team are big favourites to make the semi-finals.
“No match is won before playing but the more likely scenario is that,” he said. “We will be called spoilsports but we’ll take that as a compliment.
‘’Every time an international competition featuring such important teams comes around, you hold out hopes of going as far as possible. A continental or global tournament, like the Confederations Cup, certainly falls into that category. ‘’
Uruguay’s qualification for the semi-finals will depend on their result against Tahiti, and the results of Spain versus Nigeria, but Tahiti will be trying to make that passage as difficult as possible for the South Americans.
“Against Uruguay we need to avoid getting blown away like we did in the Spain game,” Tahiti goalkeeper Mikael Roche said.
“We need to leave less space for their strikers, who can read the game quickly, and at least make life hard for them.”
For more on the world game go to www.fifa.com