Group D is without question one of the toughest group pairings at this year’s 2014 World Cup. Italy, Uruguay, England and Costa Rica are in one happy basket. On Saturday, Uruguay meets Costa Rica in a first round showdown as both teams kick off their 2014 World Cup campaigns at Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza.
As far as history goes, it does not look good for Costa Rica as they have never beat Uruguay in a total of 8 meetings with six of those eight games being wins for Uruguay and two ties.
When you think of Uruguay, you can’t help but to think immediately about Luis Suarez. In today’s futbol era, Luis Suarez can without question be considered one of the top five players in the world with his technical magic touch coupled with his strong physical game and great vision. Suarez is coming off a stellar season for Liverpool as he led the EPL in scoring this past season which is no statistic to brush by. Suarez is coming off a injury so if the soccer gods are with Costa Rica, there is a good chance that he will rest this first game as Uruguay coach, Oscar Tabarez stated earlier this week, ““We don't want to jump the gun. We have prepared not to have Luis, but it would be wonderful to have him. We have to be very careful. "
Uruguay comes to the table with a full plate of other quality players so the Costa Ricans will have to play a very solid match for ninety minutes to get a favorable result even if Suarez sits this match out. Uruguay’s Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavani are two experienced and savvy quality players that will bring strength to the table for Uruguay that Costa Rica will to have to deal.
On the flip side, Costa Rica’s 21 year old, Joel Campbell, who has played with Arsenal, Samprissa and currently with Olympiacos in Greece, will need to make things happen upfront for the Tico’s as his goal scoring ability will be much needed in this first match if Costa Rica is going to have any shot at getting out of the first round.
Another player who can help matters for the Ticos will be midfielder Bryan Ruiz who plays for PSV Eindhoven as the Ticos will be counting a a big game from Ruiz to play a strong playmaking midfield role.
The Uruguay Costa Rica is set to kick off at 3:00 PM EST and should be a wonderful Latin American matchup that should provide plenty of flair and action. The game can be seen on ABC. and in Spanish on Univsion. WatchESPN will be streaming all live games with Univsion.com handling the Spanish Live Stream.
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