Uruguay and South Korea face off in the opening match of Group H on Thursday at the Education City Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
The 14th-ranked nation in the world, Uruguay, earned a spot in Qatar 2022 after coming in third in South American qualifying, behind Argentina and Brazil.
The Uruguayans advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup four years ago but fell to eventual champion France.
South Korea, ranked 28th, advanced to the World Cup 2022 by placing second to Iran in its group. The Koreans were unable to reach the knockout round in 2018.
The two teams’ series has been dominated by the Uruguayans. Eight previous matches between Uruguay and South Korea resulted in six victories, one defeat, and one draw. Uruguay won both of the previous meetings between the nations at the World Cup.
Additionally, Fede Valverde, a native of Uruguay, is one of the competition’s top players. With six goals in 14 La Liga games for Real Madrid, the 24-year-old midfielder is in the best form of his career.
He plays with an unmatched level of intensity and has an amazing knack for scoring goals out of thin air.
Son Heung-min, however, is a forward of the highest calibre for the Koreans. The undisputed captain and leader of South Korea is the 30-year-old who competes for Tottenham.
He has excellent set-piece skills and is clinical in front of goal. He is also equally skilled with both feet.
Kim Young-gwon and Kim Min-jae are a strong defensive duo for the Koreans. The former, a member of Napoli, took home the Serie A Player of the Month honour in September.
This year, he has excelled at the club level as well, aiding Ulsan in capturing their first league crown in 17 years. The two contributed to South Korea’s qualification record, which was the best in the group, of only three goals allowed in 10 games.
So, they do pretty well when it comes to music and drama shows, but can they do well with a football at their feet?
Here is what the betting market thinks!
1×2 Betting Odds
Uruguay are the favourites to win this one with odds of 1.75.
While the odds that the match ends in a draw stand at 3.7.
A South Korean win is highly unlikely with far-fetched odds of 6.
Uruguay is the much better side and should be extra focused to not suffer the same embarrassment as Argentina and Germany in its opening match.
It’s unlikely that Uruguay will underestimate South Korea and should easily pull out a win with its much more talented roster!
Total goals over/under
The market believes that this could be a tight game as the odds that the total number of goals will be less than 2.5, stands at 1.67.
While the odds that the total goals scored will be more than 2.5, stands at 2.38.
So the market believes Uruguay to just about win this game!
