Uruguay v Korea Republic Betting Tips [24 November 2022]

Group H in the 2022 World Cup gets underway with Uruguay and South Korea facing off at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan on Thursday. Uruguay, winners of the inaugural World Cup in 1930, will be looking to lift the famous trophy for a third time as they make their 14th appearance in the tournament. La Celeste finished third in the South American CONMEBOL qualification group to book their passage to Qatar after winning their final four matches. Uruguay won three of their last five matches in the lead-up to the World Cup, with wins over Mexico, Panama and Canada and a 1-0 loss to Iran. Overall, the two-time world champions have seven wins from their last nine matches with a +16 goal difference since the appointment of manager Diego Alonso.

South Korea are making their 11th appearance at the World Cup after finishing behind Iran in their qualifying group. They’ll be aiming to make it out of the group stages for the first time since 2010 when they were ultimately eliminated in the round of 16 by Uruguay. The Taegeuk Warriors won two of their three warm-up matches before the start of the tournament, with a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica followed up by a pair of 1-0 victories over Cameroon and Iceland. 

Uruguay will be without the services of Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo for the group stages after suffering an injury in September. He’s expected to be back for the knockout stages, should Uruguay make it that far, which would be a big lift as the 23-year-old has made impressive strides in recent seasons. Uruguay will likely stick with the familiar pairing of Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez, who partnered the Uruguayan backline in 2018 and 2014.

For the South Koreans, they will be sweating the fitness of their star player and talismanic captain Son Heung-Min, who suffered a facial fracture for club side Tottenham in a Champions League encounter with Marseille in the beginning of November. If he is fit to go, Son will be required to wear a protective face mask throughout the entirety of the World Cup. If Son isn’t able to make the starting 11 for the opener, then South Korea will suffer a massive blow as they will be without their main offensive spark and the player they look to for moments of individual magic.

We’re going to back Uruguay to kick their campaign off with a win against this South Korean team. Uruguay are legitimate dark horse contenders to make a deep run in this World Cup with their mix of a hugely experienced squad in players like Godin, Cavani and Suarez, as well as and exciting group of young talents which includes one of the best midfield pairings in the competition with Real Madrid’s Fede Valverde and Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur. There’s a clear talent gap between the two sides here which will only be accentuated should Son miss out for the South Koreans. Bet on the superior team to get the win in this game.

If you want more information and predictions, check out the Uruguay vs Republic Of Korea prediction and betting tips at Sportytrader.