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South Africa vs Uruguay Match Preview
By Matias Vulej, Jun 16th 2010
Group A's second match will face the host against the Celestes. With two draws nothing is yet decided in this group, and the winner will claim the top at least for a week.

Nicolas Lodeiro receiving a red card during the first match.Uruguay and South Africa will hold the second match of their group knowing that every single point will matter to advance to the next stage. Diego Forlan's squad had a very disappointing beginning in the competition, as their supposedly unstoppable offense had many problems making its way against France's packed back line. South Africa confirmed their strategy 4-2-3-1 can offer deadly counterattacks and for that reason most of the second half they dominated the game against Mexico. Their lack of experience against strikers of International football proved lethal against the Mexicans: something will have to change as Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan can prove deadly if given any space. Half a ticket for the Knockouts will be given to the winner, will the host stop Charrua's advance?

Oscar Tabarez's experimental lab

Something went wrong in Uruguay's Gallic debut, as the bridge between Celeste's strikers and the creative line was built over impassable terrain. For this matter the Maestro will introduce many variations, as well as adding a third striker to better assist team's marksman. Nicolas Lodeiro's unacceptable behavior against France will keep him away from this match and probably for the rest of the competition, for now the substitutes will be given a chance to show what they can do to aid Uruguay's creation.

Uruguay's new hope, Edilson CavaniPalermo's Edinson Cavani will take Ignacio Gonzales' place in an offensive manner. The lack of a fourth midfielder will call for Diego Forlan to take command over team's offensive direction, as his teams needs his wits to start their advance, and the offensive trident will feed endlessly from this modification. Porto's Jorge Fucile will be the second change in the squad, occupying the left band, sidelining Mauricio Victorino to the bench. Forlan recognized their mistakes against France "We need to improve our collective game from what we did against France and have more weight on our opponent's area". Unluckily, and opposing to Socrates beliefs, lack of ignorance does not imply goodness. Their rivals are up to date with this modifications and will probably try to overwhelm the Celestes from the bands, to produce the same effect the Vuvuzuela have over the crowds: to confuse and try to lower the level of awareness of the opponents.

Both Pereyra's showed their solidity from the bands, but the Africans have a wide physical advantage on both speed and stamina over the American squad. Diego Lugano will have to be omnipresent to stop Bafana Bafana's endless advance, but this is not something he is not used to: team's captain recognizes he must be a defensive warlord, and this does not appear to be a burden too heavy for him to have over his shoulder. The four man back-line will be mandatory against a team that relies heavily in the counter attack, though it might leave many spaces in the midfield, especially with Nicolas Lodeiro's absence.

As the Maestro declared, a victory will be a "Giant leap forward" for the Celeste. But will they be able to outrun The Boys at their own home?
An ambush in Africa

The local team is locked with all their rivals of Group A with a single point, and now the end of the Group Stage is almost here the pressure for victory is growing higher and higher. Team's aggressive formation with a lot of pressure from the bands can get through almost any defense. Katlego Mphela and Siphiwe Tshabalala showed both of them can surprise from distance as well as advance until facing opponent's goalkeeper face to face, though their last second calls have not been particularly sharp, at least during the first encounter.

South Africa's gunner Tshepo MassilelaBrazilian's coach Carlos Alberto Parrreira will have much to think figuring out how to face the Celeste squad. Against Mexico his defensive strategy worked wonders, though he might lack the solidity of certain players to actually turn Bafana's area into a fortress. Steven Pienaar will be decisive to create offensive opportunities, as his creative role will be fundamental to exploit the advantages of team's electric forwards. PIenaar declared he was not at the 100%, but it was made clear during the last match that Parreira cannot do without Everton's offensive commander. He asked his team mates to play with the heart "No one can stop you if you play with your heart" were his exact words.

Player's confidence is sky high, and they know a victory this Wednesday will almost seal their pass to the next stage. Lucas Thwala's weak performance against Mexico was one of the reasons why the host was not able to retain the victory on the debut match. For that matter, and to provide assistance to the back line against Celeste's beasts, Tsepo Masilela will most likely perform within the starting eleven. Stopping Diego Forlan will be determinant to dominate the ball, but the task will be overly difficult. Another draw might turn the last match of the stage into a nightmare for both teams, so they can only go for victory. Having faced each other only once, this six-pointer will decide the future of both squads.