Football: 2010 World Cup Team Profile - Uruguay

URUGUAY

FIFA Ranking: 21



Group: A, with South Africa, France, and Mexico.

Qualification Route: In the South America 10-team qualification tournament, Uruguay scrambled to a 5th place finish, just one point ahead of Ecuador. This earned them the right to a play-off against Costa Rica. Uruguay narrowly triumphed 2-1 over two legs.

Coach: Oscar Tabarez. This is Tabarez' second stint with Uruguay. He was in charge between 1988 and 1990, when the team qualified and competed in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. That was the last time Uruguay made it to Round 2.

Recent World Cup History: Uruguay won the inaugural World Cup on home soil in 1930, and won it again by shocking Brazil in 1950. Recent history has been much less kind. Uruguay did not qualify in 2006; did not make it out of the group stage in 2002; and did not qualify for the 1998 and 1994 tournaments.

Key Player: Highly rated defender Martin Caceres (right), at 22 years old, has already played close to 50 times for the senior national team. Caceres, the property of Barcelona but currently on loan at Juventus, is primarily a central defender but can also play at either left-back or right-back.

Goal Scorer: Diego Forlan is a world-class striker and Uruguay's main proven scoring threat. Luis Suarez of Ajax represents the next generation, and will need to prove that he is ready for the big stage.

Prospects: It will be a major and unexpected achievement if Uruguay make it out of Group A.


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