Third place matches are usually wide open affairs with both teams earning a plethora of scoring chances. The spotlight will likely shine brightest on defenders as they do their best to impede scoring chances and goals. Here is how Italy and Uruguay look on the defensive end of the field.
Italy
Key Players: Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci
Despite his horrific penalty miss against Spain, Bonucci is still a major component of Italy's back line. While Coach Cesare Prandelli has usually utilized four at the back, he altered his formation against Spain to spread his midfield and keep a more poised attack. His three defenders continued to do a terrific job despite the lessened numbers. The trio was weak against Japan and Brazil, but was solid in suffocating Spain's attack. They will have to do the same against a Uruguayan side that has three main strikers.
Uruguay
Key Players: Diego Lugano, Diego Godin, Maxi Pereira, Martin Caceres
The quartet at the back of Uruguay's team includes a number of seasoned veterans. Lugano is Uruguay's Captain and has had a mediocre tournament. He deflected Pedro's shot into his own net to give Spain a 1-0 lead in the first game. He was also victimized on the second goal by Roberto Soldado after losing his mark. However, he scored a big goal for Uruguay against Nigeria before giving up the tying marker. He was better against Brazil but still had a number of hiccups throughout the game. The rest of Uruguay's defense was sloppy on both Brazilian goals in the semifinals with no one watching an open Fred on the first tally and nobody marking Paulinho on the far edge of the box off the corner.
Edge: Even. Both sides have strong defenders that have the tendency to lose concentration and make mistakes that end up in the back of the net.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
