South Africa vs Uruguay – both sides set for second stalemate
Published:South Africa are a tempting 2/1 to claim their first win of the World Cup when they play Uruguay at 7.30pm on Wednesday.
An increasingly tight Group A and a growing trend of drawn matches at this World Cup, however, suggest that this tie could also end all square.
Following their opening day 1-1 draw with Mexico, South Africa are now unbeaten in 13 games, while Uruguay have three wins and two draws from their last five matches.
With both sides in good form and having drawn their first World Cup fixtures, a draw seems to be worth backing at 9/4.
Despite boasting a squad including the attacking prowess of Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, Uruguay were surprisingly toothless in their 0-0 stalemate with France.
The problem seemed to be their coach Oscar Tabarez’s decision to play a 5-3-2 system which appeared to give his star strikers neither decent nor consistent service.
Forlan is 4/1 favourite to score first, while Steven Pienaar is an enticing 10/1 to open the scoring from his advanced role in South Africa’s five-man midfield.
Bafana Bafana will have been sufficiently encouraged from Uruguay’s draw with France to believe that they can qualify for the second round.
Indeed, Group A is wide open with all four teams locked on one point each. This could either inspire teams to go for broke and try winning the group, or cause them to feel inhibited by the high stakes.
Should the latter frame of mind take hold when South Africa meet Uruguay, we could be presented with a seventh draw in just the sixth day of the World Cup.
Can Uruguay live up to their dark horse billing? They are 11/8 to beat South Africa. See the full South Africa vs Uruguay market.
