Venezuela vs Uruguay prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2024-09-10 22:00.
[p]Going into matchday eight of the CONMEBOL FIFA 2026 World Cup qualification campaign, Venezuela found themselves in the coveted top six, a position which at the end of qualification would be enough to secure their maiden appearance at a FIFA World Cup finals. A surprisingly heavy 4-0 thrashing by Bolivia on Thursday would likely have dampened spirits ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Uruguay. [/p]
[p]Following the crushing loss in El Alto, which became the highest city above sea level to host international football, Venezuelan manager Fernando Batista refused to blame the altitude. He will have to quickly boost morale among his players as they seek to return to the heights that they hit during the recent Copa América where they reached the quarter-finals for the third time in four editions. Yet recent meetings with Uruguay haven’t generally gone well for Venezuela, with La Vinotinto winning just one of the last 12 H2Hs (D6, L5). [/p]
[p]Venezuela will be hoping that Uruguay experience some post-Luis Suárez blues, after the 37-year-old played in his final international over the weekend – a goalless draw with Paraguay. Since taking over the job as Sky Blue boss in May last year, Marcelo Bielsa has largely ensured that the waning influence of the country’s all-time record scorer has not been keenly felt, with the team heading into the upcoming round of matches second in the standings and at the top of the goalscoring charts.[/p]
[p]Uruguay have failed to score in normal time across three of their last five fixtures (W2, D2, L1), but the two exceptions in that run allowed them to extend their unbeaten sequence when netting first to nine games (W8, D1). The match opener could be especially helpful here as the two-time World Cup winners have never tasted defeat when going 1-0 up against Venezuela (W18, D4).[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Salomón Rondón has registered a goal contribution in each of the last four matches in which Venezuela have scored (G3, A1), and the 34-year-old will be searching for his 45th international goal to extend his national record. The last player to open the scoring for Uruguay in a win over South American opposition inside 90 minutes was Facundo Pellistri, with the 22-year-old’s two goals for his country coming in games with a 9-0 aggregate scoreline. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Seven of Uruguay’s last eight internationals saw their opponents on the day receive the first booking. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]