The last group of the World Cup, Group H finally saw action today, and from the games that we got a chance to see it’s pretty clear that this is going to be a highly contested group. The goalless draw between Uruguay, and Korea was not too inspiring, but in the afternoon game Portugal, and Ghana really showed that both squads have a lot of potential. There’s an argument to be made that Ghana is the most well rounded African team. Much like Canada yesterday despite the loss they have to feel ok heading into the next couple of games.
Uruguay’s Lack of Creativity Offensively Was Concerning
Suarez is not his former self, and we knew that coming into the tournament. Cavani though is also not in great shape, and that’s why Luis got the start over him. We mentioned in our World Cup preview that it should be the other way around. Cavani seems to have a little more juice left than Suarez. In any case Uruguay really struggled with a Korea team that forced them to be more offensive and go after them. They could be better off in the next two games since both Portugal and Ghana are going to be more willing to take the initiative.
Still, their lack of creativity upfront does seem to be an issue for this team. Really they’re going to be reliant on Valverde coming up from the back or Nuñez making a run from the wing to generate goal scoring opportunities. If they can’t find a way to generate more offense they could bow out of the tournament after 3 games. That would certainly be a let down considering the talent that they have on the roster.
Ghana Has Things That Can Make It Tough On Both Korea, and Uruguay
The Ghana speed is going to be tough for an old and slow Uruguay defense. Iñaki Williams has been an issue for Gimenez, and Godin at Atlético for years. Although Godin played relatively well today considering his age and the fact that he seems to change clubs every 6 months now it’s going to be hard for him to contain any of the Ghana offensive pieces in the open space.
Ghana also has a lot of advantages over Korea, particularly physically speaking. Asian teams like Korea and Japan tend to have a lot of trouble with tall strong teams like Ghana. Perhaps expect Korea to fall back and wait for the game to come to them like they did against Uruguay in each of their next two games. Ghana seems to have more offensive options to choose from. That could see them get past Korea, and give them a chance at making the next round. They can’t lose any of their remaining games though. That’s a problem for them.
South Korea Is A Bit Too Son Dependent
We wouldn’t be overly surprised if Korea found a way to make it out of this group. The reason why we believe that they have the slimmest chances is because they can only beat you one way. They have to fall back on defense, and hope to get a Son break away that ends in a goal. Of course some of their other offensive weapons can do some damage, but that seems to be the most likely scenario for them to win. They proved today that they can be efficient defensively, and that’s certainly a positive. However, they looked kind of bland offensively. With that in mind we don’t love their chances in the next two games.
Who Is More Likely To Advance?
Logic would say Uruguay, but don’t sleep on Ghana.
