2022 World Cup Under the Radar Players: Uruguay
Lolo is a Certified Winner
Not Afraid to Lead
Uruguay’s national team is well known for having a fantastic attacking unit, which is now led by rising star Darwin Nunez. However, having talented, experienced midfielders is crucial for that attacking unit to play to its full potential. Luckily for La Celeste, Rodrigo Bentancur was born in Nueva Helvecia on June 25, 1997.
Lolo is a certified winner who doesn’t usually receive the respect he deserves. We’re talking about a player who has already left his mark in Argentina and Italy and is currently working on doing the same in England. I’m telling you, if Uruguay wants to advance to the 2022 World Cup Round of 16 and beyond, Bentancur must be there leading the midfield unit.
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Club Career
Bentancur began his professional career in Argentina. He played three tournaments for Boca Juniors, winning the title twice. If you aren’t familiar with soccer in South America, playing for Boca Juniors is like playing for Real Madrid or Manchester City. Bentancur also won the domestic cup with los Xeneizes.
Later, he moved to Turin to play for Juventus. He contributed for the Vecchia Signora to win the Serie A title three times, and the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italia twice. Overall, he played in 181 matches and scored three times. Nothing to worry about as scoring goals isn’t his main task. We’re talking about a defensive midfielder.
After winning it all with the Bianconeri, well, almost all, the 25-year-old midfielder decided to move to London after getting a call from manager Antonio Conte. Bentancur joined a promising project called Tottenham. The Spurs are aiming to win the English Premier League for the first time. In his first season with the team, the Uruguayan played 18 games, more than enough to secure a spot in the starting lineup. He and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are the ones who provide balance to the team.
With La Celeste
Bentancur was crucial for Uruguay to win the 2017 South American U-20 Championship with a five-point advantage over Argentina and six over Brazil. No other team allowed fewer goals than Uruguay with five. Lolo even scored a goal. The squad later finished fourth in the World Cup.
In 2017, he also received his first call-up to the senior team. He made his debut in October in a goalless draw against Venezuela. That and being a regular starter in Juventus was enough for the coaching staff to include him in the 23-man squad for the 2018 WC in Russia. Bentancur was crucial for Uruguay to reach the Round of 8, in which they lost to France.
He was also included in the team for the 2019 and 2021 Copa America. La Celeste was eliminated in the Quarterfinals, after losing the penalty shoot-out, in both editions.
Overall, Bentancur has played 49 games. He has scored only one goal, against Venezuela in a 4-1 victory on the road to Qatar 2022. Uruguay finished the qualifiers in third place, meaning they won a direct ticket.
Uruguay in the 2022 World Cup
As mentioned before, Uruguay is in Group H. They’ll face Portugal, South Korea, and Ghana. As expected, the European side dominates the soccer lines to win it at -150, while La Celeste is the favorite to finish second at +200. Uruguay is better than South Korea and Ghana but beating them won’t be easy.
La Celeste has won the WC twice, but the last time was in 1950. Most recently, their best result was third place in 2010.
Being a defensive midfielder, Bentancur isn’t among the players listed to win the Golden Boot, but he could end up being crucial for Luis Suarez (+4000), Darwin Nunez (+5000) or Edinson Cavani (+5000) to win it. Plus, if Uruguay goes all the way, I wouldn’t be surprised if Bentancur is included in the Team of the Tournament.
