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The second day of the 2018 World Cup kicks off at 8am EST with Egypt vs Uruguay.
This will be the second game in the World Cup with the first game taking place the day previously, as hosts Russia face off against Saudi Arabia.
Despite being in the same group as the favourites, Uruguay are heavy favourites to win Group A. They’re 1.72 odds compared to 3.00 for Russia.
Uruguay qualified for the World Cup by finishing 2nd in the CONMEBOL Standings. They had a record of 9 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses. While they scored a fair amount of goals they also conceded a lot too with over a goal a game on average conceded. They had the top goalscorer in the tournament with Edinson Cavani at 10 goals.
Egypt qualified by winning Group E in the CAF Third Round. They beat the mighty Congo, Uganda and Ghana for that spot. It wasn’t easy as they lost against Uganda and drew against Ghana. The big question involving Egypt is whether Mohamed Salah will be fit or not. He’s far and away their star player and will be a big difference maker.
Uruguay vs Egypt Betting Odds:
Uruguay to win: 1.57
Egypt to win: 6.50
Draw: 3.60
(Odds on this page are correct as of 2018/06/09 5:12:21 PM EST but are subject to change)
Uruguay Analysis:
In the 2014 World Cup, Uruguay were shocked in their opening game with a 3-1 loss to Costa Rica. They managed to turn it around with victories over England and Italy (with late goals) to qualify but were promptly knocked out by Colombia in the next round. They’ll be hoping for a much better performance this time around.
We’ve seen them change over the last few years though with the emergence of guys like Valverde, Bentancur and Vecino. Their midfield is now incredibly creative and they have the strike force to match that obviously.
It’s actually been interesting watching the transition of Uruguay as they were essentially forced to change the way they play due to those players. They’re still not perfect but things have really changed and if they can adapt fast enough to it all they could be a dark horse for the tournament.
This first game against Egypt is actually a massive game for them – I expect we’ll see this new style however if it doesn’t work out they’ll change things around back to the old way.
There’s lots of question marks but for the benefit of good viewing, I’m really hoping Uruguay adapt to this tactical transition well as they could be surreal to watch if it all clicks.
Egypt Analysis:
The big news with Egypt is of course whether or not Salah will be fit to play. Even if he’s not fully fit they’ll most likely risk him anyway.
They really don’t have too many other goalscoring threats but Uruguay do leak in the goals. Egypt focus on a defense first approach and will do that regardless of whether Salah plays or not.
The thing is that I really think Uruguay are very powerful this tournament and Salahs injury will not factor into the game at all.
Sure under Cúper their defensive record is excellent but with this Uruguay strike force as well as the creativity in the midfield, I could see this being a dominant victory for Uruguay.
Uruguay vs Egypt Betting Tips:
Honestly I will fully admit that part of me is betting this based more on what I WANT to see on the field as opposed to what I EXPECT to see – but I think Uruguay have all the pieces for the perfect jigsaw puzzle, and if they just all fit together they could end up going all the way to the semi finals.
I’m going to back Uruguay -1 at 2.75 odds for 3 units. You can bet this at https://www.Bovada.lv.
