South Korea vs Uruguay Predictions

Friday’s international friendly action sees South Korea and Uruguay doing battle. A close game is expected to be in order at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

For South Korea, the game represents another chance to move on from the World Cup, in which they disappointingly crashed out at the group stage despite beating the then reigning champions Germany in their final match. Boss Shin Tae-yong then left the Korean dugout and Paulo Bento now finds himself in charge and got off to a decent start in the last international break.

Indeed, lifting a squad fairly low in morale after the tournament in Russia looked a difficult task but the new era of Korean football under Bento certainly looked like it had potential, in the action we saw last month. The side first saw off Costa Rica 2-0 with a dominant showing, prior to drawing 0-0 with a strong Chile side and building on said performances is the target coming into Friday’s game.

Nonetheless, with a Uruguayan outfit that made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in town, the hosts will know they do not face an easy task. La Celeste were impressive in Russia, winning all 3 of their group games, as well as seeing off Portugal prior to losing to eventual winners France, and with legendary boss Oscar Tabarez having signed a new contract, spirits are high in travelling ranks.

Uruguay have been a real force overall in 2018 and arrive having won 8 of their last 9 matches across all fronts, including a stunning 4-1 win over Mexico last time out. With the Copa America in Brazil next year fast approaching, continuing positive momentum in the friendlies contested between now and then is of real importance and whilst the South Americans will have to do without Luis Suarez for this trip, their squad is still one packed full of quality.

Ultimately, we’re expecting a pretty close game in the Korean capital and find the two very difficult to separate. There’s no doubting that Uruguay possess a bit more star quality than Korea on paper, but the hosts rarely lose in their own country and put in some good work in the last international break.

All things considered, backing a draw looks an excellent way to play and it’s where our money is going. South Korea have lost just 1 of their last 10 home based friendlies and with Uruguay themselves in such strong form, it’s difficult to anticipate much giving way and we think the game will end in a scoreless stalemate.