| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portugal |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
 Ghana |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
 Korea Republic |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 Uruguay |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Group H
02/12/2022
Stadium
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Al Janoub Stadium
The Uruguay national side have undergone a recent World Cup resurgence after a long period of stagnation. Reaching the semi-finals at South Africa in 2010, Round of 16 in 2014, and quarter-finals in 2018, they will hope to continue this trend as some of their best players head into their final major tournament.
With star forwards Edinson Cavani and Luis Suárez both 35 years of age, it’s very unlikely we’ll see them in a World Cup again, as too with rugged defenders Diego Godín and Martín Cáceres. Alone, these four players have amassed over 500 international caps between them.
Qualification from the tough South American group was made trickier with the fine form of Brazil and Argentina who filled the top two spots. However, a run of successive wins in their final four matches sealed the third automatic position – putting Uruguay on course to face South Korea, Portugal and Ghana at World Cup 2022.
47-year-old Diego Alonso has been the Uruguay national team manager since 2021. A varied playing career across South America and Europe came to an end in 2011, where he began his first coaching role at hometown club Bella Vista.
Further roles came in Uruguay, Paraguay and Mexico before Alonso was appointed manager of the David Beckham-owned franchise Inter Miami in 2019. His time in MLS was disappointing however, and the dreaded sack came less than two years later.
However, when the Uruguay position became available after long-serving Óscar Tabárez was fired, this didn’t stop Diego Alonso from being appointed and duly qualifying for the Qatar World Cup in 2022.
One of the old warhorses of top-level football is Diego Godín. The 36-year-old defender has amassed well over 150 caps for his country (making him Uruguay’s record appearance holder) and is the veteran of three World Cup Finals and multiple Copa América tournaments.
Godin is best known for this time with Atlético Madrid where he was a focal point of the defensive unit forged by manager Diego Simeone. He won La Liga in 2013–14 along with two Europa League Finals during his spell, but now plays in Argentina with Vélez Sarsfield.
Uruguay will always have a place in the tournament’s history after winning the inaugural World Cup in 1930 – a competition they also hosted.
Luis Suarez famously broke Ghanian hearts in the 2014 World Cup when he handballed purposefully on the goal line and celebrated when Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty. The two sides will clash again at the World Cup in what could be a crucial final group stage game, perhaps with a bit of extra bite involved in proceedings.
Edinson Cavani has made himself available for the Uruguay World Cup 2022 squad, although he has already revealed this will be his last involvement at international level. In an interview he stated, “From a football perspective my aim is to go to the World Cup in Qatar and from there to step aside. I think this is the last dance.”
