Preview: Uruguay vs Dominican Republic - prediction, team news, lineups

Uruguay will aiming to extend their three-game unbeaten run when they face Dominican Republic in Friday's friendly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Dominican Republic will be looking to avoid another poor result having lost three of their previous four matches.

Match preview

Uruguay are looking forward to competing at the 2026 World Cup after finishing in fourth spot in the CONMEBOL section of qualifying with 28 points to their name.

Marcelo Bielsa's charges bounced back from June's defeat against Paraguay with back-to-back home wins against Venezuela and Peru.

The dominant home victory against Peru secured their spot at a fifth consecutive World Cup, before they wrapped up their qualifying campaign with a goalless away draw against Chile.

As they start to prepare for next year's tournament, Uruguay will play four friendlies between now and the end of the season, with Bielsa's side set to take on the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan, before they face World Cup hosts Mexico and the USA in November.

While they may be unbeaten in three games, Uruguay will be desperate to put together a winning run in their final four matches of 2025, considering that they have won just three of their past 13 internationals (D7, L3).

They will also be keen to keen to produce another strong defensive display in Friday's friendly, after recording clean sheets in four of their last five matches.

In contrast to Uruguay, the Dominican Republic will not feature at the 2026 World Cup after falling in the second round of CONCACAF qualifying.

They finished outside the top two of Group E after winning two and losing two of their four qualifiers, ensuring that the wait will go on for their first World Cup appearance.

Marcelo Neveleff's side followed their World Cup qualifying disappointment with their debut appearance at the summer's Gold Cup in Mexico and the USA.

The Dominican Republic lost back-to-back games against Mexico and Costa Rica, before they drew with Suriname in a dead-rubber game on the final matchday of the group stage.

After suffering a group-stage exit, Los Quisqueyanos returned to action with a disappointing 3-0 loss in September's friendly against Jordan, making it four games without a win since beating Dominica on June 11.

Sitting 127 places below Uruguay in the FIFA World Rankings, the Dominican Republic will struggle to end their winless run on Friday, but they will be looking to make it competitive in their first-ever meeting with La Celeste.

Uruguay form (all competitions):

L D L W W D

Dominican Republic form (all competitions):

L W L L D L

Team News

Bielsa has decided to name an experimental 17-man squad for the upcoming fixtures, using it as an opportunity to test new players ahead of next year's World Cup.

The Uruguay boss could select Torino's Franco Israel in goal, while he may be shielded by a back four of Jose Luis Rodriguez, Santiago Bueno, Santiago Mourino and Marcelo Saracchi.

Federico Vinas is in contention to play as the central striker, although he is facing competition from Agustin Alvarez and Luciano Rodriguez.

As for the Dominican Republic, Xavier Valdez is likely to be busy when he lines up in goal against the two-time world champions.

Neveleff could opt to select a back five to contend with Uruguay's attacking threat, which could see Joao Urbaez, Edgar Pujol, Pablo Rosario, Noah Dollenmayer and Junior Firpo all feature in the backline.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Dorny Romero could be given the lonely task of leading the line, with the striker looking to add to his 25-goal international tally.

Uruguay possible starting lineup:

Valdez; Urbaez, Pujol, Rosario, Dollenmayer, Firpo; Vasquez, Morshel, Lopez, Reyes; Romero

Dominican Republic possible starting lineup:

Israel; Rodriguez, Bueno, Mourino, Saracchi; Zalazar, Fonseca, Martinez; Laquintana, Torres, Vinas

We say: Uruguay 4-0 Dominican Republic

While Uruguay may be working with an experimental squad, we still expect them to have far too much quality for their opponents in the neutral venue of Malaysia, and as a result, we believe that Bielsa's charges will cruise to a comfortable victory.

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