A pair of World Cup-bound teams coming off impressive victories in midweek will battle it out on Sunday as the USA host Uruguay in a friendly at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City.
On Wednesday, the Yanks came away with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Morocco, while La Celesta had no trouble against Mexico, winning by that same score.
Match preview
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A break of over two months from international football did not appear to affect Gregg Berhalter and his side, who put on arguably their best 90-minute performance of the year earlier this week.
They sustained some early pressure in the opening dozen minutes, but this team settled into the game nicely, putting the Moroccans on their heels on plenty of occasions.
This team showed tremendous ball control in that encounter and an ability to change direction at high speed while in possession, which enabled them to create many quality scoring opportunities.
While this group have looked dangerous on the counter, scoring eight goals in their last three games, Berhalter was not pleased with his side's defensive shape, saying they played too deep while getting dominated in the physical battles.
Their high-pressure system has been effective lately, as they have managed to capitalize on their chances in the final third.
Heading into this fixture, the US are unbeaten in 24 consecutive matches played at home, and they have yet to lose a game on American soil against La Celeste, drawing them 1-1 in their previous friendly back in 2019.
Over their last nine matches played in all competitions, the Americans have only conceded two goals in the opening half while scoring eight themselves.
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Uruguay are heading into this fixture in fine form, with a 100% record so far this year, conceding only once in their previous five matches.
Manager Diego Alonso has been calling for his team to be more aggressive and greedier in the final third, and his players delivered against El Tri, scoring on three of their four efforts on target.
That was the fourth clean sheet of the year for the Uruguayans, who have been nearly impenetrable on the backline so far in 2022.
The fullbacks on this team have played a big part in their success, adding another dimension to the attack while still being able to come back and track opposing runners.
Thanks to their holding midfielders, we have seen them play well between the lines, linking up brilliantly from defence to attack.
In the past, they have looked shaken when trailing a match, losing their last four South American qualifiers in 2021 when conceding first, three of which were lopsided defeats by three goals.
It has been suggested that they are near the end of their golden generation, but based on what La Celeste have shown us lately, they look like a team with a great run in them at the finals come November.
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Team News
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With his assist on the opening goal from Brenden Aaronson, Christian Pulisic became the fastest US national team player to reach double-digits in assists for the Yanks, hitting that mark in his 49th appearance on Wednesday, besting Landon Donovan by one.
Haji Wright notched his first international goal from the penalty spot in that match, Tim Weah tallied his third for the senior side, Reggie Cannon collected his third national team assist, Joe Scally and Malik Tillman made their debuts in the second half, while Antonee Robinson remains the only player to start all seven matches for the Americans this year.
Aaron Long earned his first start since a 2-1 win versus Northern Ireland last year and Cameron Carter-Vickers picked up his first international cap since 2019.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner made eight saves for his 10th clean sheet with the US, moving him into sixth all-time among American shot stoppers, eight back of Brad Guzan.
Edinson Cavani notched a brace for La Celeste in their victory over Mexico, and if he plays on Sunday, he could catch Luis Suarez for second in all-time appearances for the national team, as he is currently tied with Fernando Muslera, who did not play on Thursday.
Ronald Araujo reached the double-digit mark in caps earlier this week, Mathias Olivera made just his fifth appearance for the senior side and Matias Vecino notched his fourth international goal.
Facundo Pellistri and Damian Suarez both had an assist earlier this week, while Sergio Rochet only had to make two saves for his third successive clean sheet.
USA possible starting lineup:
Turner; Yedlin, Zimmerman, Palmer-Brown, A. Robinson; Aaronson, Adams, De la Torre; Weah, Wright, Arriola
Uruguay possible starting lineup:
Rochet; Olivera, Coates, Godin, Suarez; Torreira; Rossi, Vecino, Valverde, Nunez; Cavani
We say: USA 0-1 Uruguay
As good as the Americans looked at home to Morocco, La Celeste will be a much tougher unit to get through, as they follow you everywhere and do not allow you a ton of space.
We anticipate it will be a tight affair with few chances both ways, but that should favour Uruguay, who know how to win games ugly, while the US tend to get frustrated when they are out of rhythm.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
