England v Uruguay: Caps and goals galore for Oscar Tabarez’s side

While the debate ahead of this game has centred around two key players, Wayne Rooney for England and Luis Suarez for Uruguay, what of the other 20 players who will take to the pitch tonight?

 

Uruguay's dreadful start to the tournament may have dampened expectations but there is no denying they are an experienced international side with goals in them – and lots.  

 

Oscar Tabarez's side rank fourth from all 32 World Cup teams in terms of how many international goals their squad has amassed, with 143. Germany have 219, Spain 217 and Roy Hodgson's current crop of players have netted for their country on 113 occasions.

 

The South American outfit also have one of the most experienced squads at the World Cup, with a total of 1,132 caps between them, second only to Spain. 

 

Uruguay's starting line-up against Costa Rica had a total of 738 international caps, 112 more than the entirety of the England squad. 

 

 

As became clear in the second half of Uruguay's 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica, England's opponents are susceptible to a defensive lapse, or three. Uruguay conceded 25 goals in qualifying for the World Cup, the same number as they scored. 

 

Of those goals, 64 per cent came from central areas, indicating that there will be gaps for Wayne Rooney to exploit if he starts in a central number 10 position behind the main striker, Daniel Sturridge. 

 

As Roy Hodgson highlighted in the build-up to the game, Rooney getting into the box will be key.

 

 

While England teams of the past may have had a reputation for being solid at defending set pieces, evidence from the first game suggests that it could be a potential problem.  

 

A third of Uruguay's goals in their qualifying campaign did come from set pieces, so, given England's lack of concentration to allow Italy to score from a corner, Hodgson should be ensuring his players do not switch off at those critical moments.