Now that the Group A friendlies in the only FIFA date are over, it is probably a good time to sit and try to analyze the results and performances of Uruguay….and the rest of the Group A.

Switzerland 1 – 3 Uruguay

FIFA ranking: Switzerland (15 tied), Uruguay (19)

Switzerland

Considering Hitzfeld’s credencials, it was a bit surprising how he managed the game:

• The Swiss were missing five (goalkeeper Benaglio, defender Senderos, midfielder Huggel, and forwards Frei and Nkufo) players from their starting XI.
• Three starters (defenders Grichting and Lichtsteiner, and midfielder Inler) did play the whole game.
• Two other starters, defender Spycher and midfielder Barnetta (coming back from an injury) only played the second half.
• Midfielder Padalino, in danger of losing his spot due to lack of minutes with his club, was an unused sub. Instead, Behrami (who had been replaced by Padalino during qualifiers) and Shaqiri played in the midfield.
• Gelson, who has played over 200 minutes covering for injuries to Huggel and Inler as defensive midfielder, only played the last 15 minutes of the game.
• Hitzfeld opted start defender Rossini instead of Von Bergen who has played almost 300 minutes for the national team; Von Bergen did play in the second half.
• No surprise that forward Derdiyok played the whole game.
• Surprising that midfielder Yakin (who I compared to Recoba) did not even get the call, although he is having a good year at Luzern.
• Hitzfeld gave 4 Swiss players their first caps. Defender Rossini and midfielder started the game. Midfielder Chiumiento and forward Bunjaku came in the second half. You would have to assume that these players are of better quality than the more experienced players that Hitzfeld had at his disposal.

Uruguay

This game had some very obvious purposes: to promote some chemistry between players most likely to be on the starting XI, and to evaluate or monitor other players.

The final decision on the starting XI may or may not already have been made by the coaching staff; however, from my point-of-view, Uruguay started 7 of their starting XI playing: Muslera, Godin, M.Pereira, Perez, A.Pereira, Forlan, Suarez. Here is my reasoning for the starting 7 of XI:

• Scotti and Fucile were replacing Lugano (injury) and Caceres (injury) .
• the regular right midfielder should have been C.Rodriguez (suspension).
• Perez, Gargano and Eguren have almost played the same minutes in the qualifiers; until recently, Perez and Eguren were preferred over Gargano. And, we may or may not need a second defensive midfielder.

Players being monitored or evaluated include:

• Arevalo Rios – making his return to the national team as a possible replacement (on the bench) for Eguren
• Lodeiro – the coaching staff is worried about his lack of minutes at Ajax. Sorry guys, but just being consistent on the criticism (or criteria) about including or excluding players not getting regular minutes on their clubs.

Player ratings (I gave these as comments but thought it would be good to repeat them here):

• Fernando Muslera (8) – Played the whole game. He almost stopped the PK. Did not see much action, but made a great save. And he showed good hands collecting some headers and funny bounces around the box.
• Maxi Pereira (7) – Played the whole game. Was his usual self, playing up and down the wing. The Swiss normally attacked from the left side, so did not have to do much defending.
• Andrés Scotti (6) – Played the whole game. Solid, except that he dropped the Swiss forward in the box, which resulted in the penalty kick.
• Diego Godín (6) – Played the whole game. Solid in the central corridor, he anticipated well.
• Jorge Fucile (7) – Played the whole game. Was very involved in the offense, carrying the ball up the field. Major portion of the Swiss attack came through the left side, so had to defend quite a bit, and was helped out by Palito.
• Diego Pérez (8) – Played the whole game, all over the field, anticipating and recovering balls.
• Walter Gargano (5) – Replaced in the second half. Solid but not very noticeable.
• Álvaro Pereira (7.5) – Replaced in the seond half. Great game up and down the wings, made dangerous crosses and even helped back on the defense. Had a point-blank opportunity which he has to learn to bury instead of kicking into the goalkeeper’s gut.
• Nicolás Lodeiro (6) – Replaced in the second half. Still getting his feet wet. Although not yet on the same page as Suarez and Forlan, he did make some good plays.
• Luis Suárez (8) – Replaced in the second half. Worked hard, he chased lots of balls into the corners and down the middle of the field. It was a first class strike for the second goal of the game.
• Diego Forlán (7) – Replaced in the second half. Played his usual game of dropping back into the midfield to help out. Made a first class strike for the first goal.
• Sebastian Abreu (4) – Came in the second half. Had one good opportunity that went over the crossbar. Did not get the ball enough. He gave a good effort, chasing after the ball and pressing the defense.
• Edinson Cavani (6) – Came in the second half. Impressed with his good effort. First time he has seen significant minutes.
• Jorge Martinez (5) – Came in the second half. Gave a good effort, even chased after some balls that were lost. There just seems to be chemistry missing with this second unit.
• Jorge Rodriguez (4) – Came in the second half. Tries hard. There was a noticeable drop in the left wing play when Palito was replaced. The Swiss were not threatened by his speed so they played him tighter than Palito.
• Egidio Arevalo Rios (5) – Came in the seond half. Made no big mistakes but otherwise not very noticeable. He’s not going to bump Perez or Gargano but probably can substitute if required
• Sebastian Fernandez (¿) – Came in to replace Martinez. Did not really see much from him.

Note: As mentioned by julianbolso, J. Rodriguez and Arevalo Rios had to fly from Uruguay, and perhaps did not have the energy after such a long flight.

Conclusion

The AUF’s intent to have a tough opponent for the friendly was thwarted by the injury bug. Evidently, there is a significant drop in quality from the Swiss starting XI to their other players. So, considering that the Swiss team was short-handed, it should not have come as a surprise that Uruguay won.

The lo-o-o-oo-o-o-ong anticipated return of Nacho Gonzalez to the national team did not materialize. But our strikers scored, our goalkeeper did not commit any faux pas and the team won. We all keep hearing the same refrain that the qualification is the hardest part, so there was the risk of a letdown. Overall, it was probably a better effort than was expected.

   

2 Responses to “Analyze This – Group A Friendlies (Part 1 of 4)”