EPL Reunion
Darwin Nunez and Heung-min Son are used to facing each other in the English Premier League. In fact, Liverpool and Tottenham collided on Nov. 6 in London and the Reds won 2-1. Thanks to the 2022 World Cup, Nunez and Son will meet again on Thursday. Nunez and Uruguay come in as the favorites, but Son and South Korea are well known for not giving up easily.
Let’s check the latest World Cup odds, stats, injury reports, and World Cup lines for Uruguay vs South Korea. We’ve plenty of World Cup betting odds for you to consider.
Uruguay vs South Korea Betting Lines
Uruguay: Heavy Artillery
Besides Nunez, Uruguay’s attacking unit includes Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Maximiliano Gomez. There’s also Federico Valverde. Officially, he’s a midfielder, but thanks to Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti, he can also play as a winger.
For Suarez and Cavani, the top two scorers in team history, it’s the last dance. Suarez has scored 67 goals while Cavani has scored 58. Winning the title for the first time since 1950 would be the perfect way to say goodbye.
La Celeste’s last friendly match prior to the WC was against Canada. Curiously enough, they ended up winning 2-0 despite losing possession with 44 percent and taking only two shots on target. I guess they deserve congratulations for being so effective in front of goal. Nicolas de la Cruz and Nunez were the scorers.
Let’s talk a bit about the defense. Qatar 2022 will also be the last dance for Diego Godin and Martin Caceres. In other words, we’re talking about a well-balanced team between experienced and young, promising players. If that’s not enough for you, listen to this: Uruguay has scored and allowed exactly 22 goals on the road to soccer’s biggest stage. Like Thanos would say, perfectly balanced.
South Korea: Beyond Son
There’s no doubt that Son is South Korea’s top player. Besides playing for Tottenham in the EPL, he finished as the team’s top scorer during the qualifiers with five goals. Defensively, the Tigers of Asia only allowed five goals in 16 games on the road to Qatar. In other words, they’re also a well-balanced team.
Most recently, they defeated Iceland 1-0 in their last tuneup match. Song Min-kyu was the scorer. Overall, they only lost one of their last nine games in all competitions, finishing with a clean sheet in five of those games.
Qatar 2022 will be South Korea’s 11th WC and 10th in a row. As if that wasn’t enough, the Tigers of Asia are the only team from that region to reach the semifinals. They did so in the 2002 edition. They made it out of the Group Stage for the last time in 2010.
Finally, Paulo Bento is a very experienced coach. He led Portugal to the 2012 Euro semifinals and to the 2014 World Cup.
Uruguay vs South Korea Match Information
- Match: Uruguay vs South Korea
- Date: Thursday, Nov. 24
- Time: 8 a.m. ET
- Location: Qatar Foundation Stadium, Al-Rayyan
- Uruguay vs South Korea Live Stream: fuboTV
Uruguay vs South Korea Picks & Prediction
- Worth betting on the Moneyline?
I think so. Uruguay comes in as the betting online favorite at -135 while South Korea is +435. To be honest with you, I think the Tigers of Asia are much better than the odds indicate. They won’t pull off the stunner, but I do believe they’ll get a point and the draw is offering a +250 price, meaning that a $100 wager would turn into a $350 payout.
- Worth betting ATS?
Considering the above, the answer is yes. South Korea is +½ (+115). The Tigers of Asia faced Chile and Paraguay in June. They defeated the Chileans 2-0 and drew 2-2 to the Paraguayans. In other words, they aren’t afraid.
- Worth betting on the Totals?
Not really. The total is set at two in the sportsbook and, as mentioned before, we’re talking about two well-balanced, disciplined teams. I do expect a back-and-forth battle, but my score prediction is 1-1, meaning all total bets would end up in a push.
Score Prediction: Uruguay 1, South Korea 1
The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.
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