URUGUAY 
VS
JAMAICA
June 13, 2015; 20.00 BST
Estadio Regional de Antofagasta
*****
The most successful nation in the Copa America take on minnows Jamaica in the 2015 edition of the competition.
Team news & Tactical brief
Uruguay
The holders of the competition will be without a certain treble winning forward but will still feel confident about their chances in the competition. Luis Suarez, who was voted Player of the Tournament in 2011 edition of the competition will serve his ban after last year’s infamous bite on Giorgio Chiellini. The familiar face of Diego Forlan in a blue jersey will also not be around as the player announced his retirement a few months back. The goalscoring burden will thus fall on the shoulders of PSG’s Edinson Cavani.
Uruguay has an outstanding defense in Maxi Pereira, Alvaro Pereira, Jose Giminez and team captain Diego Godin. Fernando Muslera will start in goal. Impressive youngster Gimenez is also expected to feature in the team and it is likely that Godin and Giminez continue their club partnership for the country, which will only help matters. Sebastian Coates, who was very impressive in Sunderland’s late quest for Premier League survival, will also be pushing for a starting spot in the defence. Marginalized Atletico Madrid player Cristian Rodriguez will be pushing for a spot in the midfield for Tabarez’s side. Boca Juniors’s NicolA?s Lodeiro, Mexican club Tigres’s Egidio Ar valo and River Plate’s Carlos SA?nchez are the other players expected to feature in the midfield which means that – without disrespect to the players’ and their clubs – coach Tabarez doesn’t have a very strong midfield. Alongside Cavani, Diego Rolan is expected to start in attack.
Possible starting lineup (4-4-2): Muslera; M Pereira, Godin, Gimenez, A Pereira; Rodriguez, Lodeiro, Arevelo, Sanchez; Cavani, Rolan
Jamaica
The 65th seeded nation like Mexico, is competing in this Copa America as a CONCACAF confederation squad. Also similar to Mexico, Jamaica will be playing the Gold Cup in July so this Copa America will help them a lot for the CONCACAF tournament.
“We want to improve ourselves,” Jamaica’s German coach Winfried Schafer said. “We hope that Uruguay will not have a good day.”
It isn’t particularly encouraging that the last time that Jamaica faced a big international side was in a game that saw France walk away as 8-0 winners. However, coach Winfried Schafer has plenty of experience and like the last World Cup, we might see plenty of upsets here too. Moreover, Jamaica have won once against La Celeste 2-0 in 2004, so they might take some encouragement from that.
EPL enthusiasts might see some familiar names in the team. Crystal Palace’s Adrian Mariappa and Leicester City defender Wes Morgan are likely to be seen in the defence for the ‘Reggae Boyz’.
Possible starting lineup (4-4-2): Miller; Taylor, Morgan, Mariappa, Lawrence; Watson, Barnes, Austin, McAnuff; Mattocks, Brown
Key Stats
- Despite this game marking Jamaica’s Copa America debut, this will be the fourth occasion they have faced Uruguay.
- Jamaica, who along with Mexico are the two invited teams from CONCACAF to compete at the South American championship, will play in the competition for the first time in their history.
- Uruguay have won three matches on the trot since losing to Costa Rica in an international friendly in November.
Player to watch out for
Diego Rolan (Uruguay)
The 22 year-old is expected to lead Uruguay’s attack along with Edinson Cavani. He has been highly rated in France and for a reason. The Bordeaux striker scored 15 goals and grabbed 3 assists in the recently concluded season. It will be interesting to see how much he can contribute to Uruguay’s efforts in the tournament.
Final Prediction
Uruguay 3 Jamaica 0
Suarez or no Suarez, this should be a cakewalk for Uruguay. Expect Jamaica to put up a solid performance for large parts of the game. But once the first goal is let in, Tabarez’s men should find it easy to seal a solid result.
