Uruguay vs South Korea Prediction

November 24th at the Education City Stadium, the first game of Group H kicks off. It’s Uruguay vs South Korea, in what could be one of the most entertaining opening games in the competition. Our Uruguay vs South Korea prediction introduces our World Cup 2022 predictions, tournament history, top players, and qualifier results. At Betiton, you can enjoy comprehensive coverage of this fixture and the full tournament. We give you the best online sports betting service across hundreds of markets with the best odds to help you win real money from. So, where will the 3 points be heading in this fixture, will it be a bore draw, or a goal fest spectacular?

Uruguay Preview

Our World Cup predictor for this fixture has Uruguay as favourites to win the match and by some margin. When it comes to the competition, Uruguay starts as the 12th favourite to win, with odds of 50 to 1. It’s a fair reflection of where the team are right now, and their World Cup betting odds will rapidly decrease should they make it out of the Group H.

As a team, they are highly inconsistent and recent results show this looking at the Copa America and the qualifiers. Perhaps playing South Korea first might be a bit of a wake-up call, as they are by far not going to be walkovers in this group.

World Cup History

Does Uruguay’s former glory days in the tournament impact on their current World Cup predictions? Uruguay won the first world cup in 1930 and followed this up in 1950, having not entered the previous two competitions. Then came their awkward decline. 1954 saw them end 4th place, then in 1958, they didn’t qualify. There was a resurgence in 1970 with a 4th place finish, which was copied again in 2010. Between these times they either didn’t qualify or finished in the Group Stages or Round of 16. More recently in 2018, they reached the Quarter-finals coming in 5th place.

The Uruguayan team cannot afford to be complacent with this fixture, and should they win, they should make it into the Round of 16 comfortably. The problem is, that they are their own worst enemy, and for some reason, be it ego or laziness, they struggle against weak opponents. 

Qualification and Road to the World Cup 2022

The road to Qatar was spanned out over an 18-game qualifier starting in 2020, and there was added spice when a new coach was drafted in with 4 fixtures left to play. They finished 3rd in the table behind Argentina and Brazil. Uruguay won 8 games, drew 4, and lost 6. They also scored and conceded 22 goals. It doesn’t look like great form coming into this World Cup, so will it affect how you bet?

Uruguay Players to Watch

The Uruguayan team have a number of star players and there should be enough of them to contain the South Koreans. Here we pick three players that can influence this fixture and provide alternative football betting options if you wish to look at markets beyond Win/Draw/Win.

• Federico Valverde: Position: Centre Midfield. An impact player for the team that comes with 42 caps, 4 goals, 1 assist, and 6 cards. He may lack stats, but his movement on the pitch will be a problem for the South Koreans.
• Edinson Cavani: Position: Striker. At 35 it should be his last World Cup, but he just seems to keep going. He comes to Qatar with 131 caps, 56 goals, 17 assists, and 14 yellows. He might not start, but getting a goal off the bench wouldn’t at all be surprising.
• Luis Suarez: Position: Striker. Also at 35, this will be his last try at glory in the competition. He brings 131 caps, 66 goals, 37 assists, and 16 yellows. One of the greatest strikers of all time and even at his age will score goals in this tournament.

South Korea Preview

Many World Cup bets that will be placed on this fixture are going to favor Uruguay over the South Koreans. At Betiton, we have the team as the 24th favourites to win, coming in with odds of 249 to 1. Should we be so presumptuous to have them labelled the underdog? It’s often that teams playing in the east and not part of South America and Europe are overlooked, but football is never a game of guarantees. The South Koreans have a dogged spirit, hard-working ethos, and they have zero ounce of ego in their squad. But will good virtues get them out of this group? 

World Cup History

Does the tournament history of the World Cup and South Korea have any bearing on football predictions? Well, they can but they shouldn’t. No team is ever consistent, and even the bigger nations with the bigger players can often stumble at the first hurdle. 

When South Korea made their World Cup debut, it was in 1954, where they finished in the Group Stages. They failed to qualify for all competitions up until 1986, but it was in 2002 when they jointly hosted the competition with Japan, that they reached 4th place. 2006, they slumped in the Group Stage, improved in 2010 by reaching the Round of 16. But history has a habit of repeating because in the following two tournaments it was only the Group Stages for them again. 

Qualification and Road to the World Cup 2022

For South Korea to book their flights to Qatar, they had to progress through two knock-out rounds that combine into 16 games. The first round saw them win their group coming top of the table with 5 wins from 6 and a single draw. Goals scored 22, and goals conceded 1. They then joined the next qualifier round with 10 games to play. They finished second place winning 7, drawing 2, and losing 1 game. Their goal difference was once again impressive scoring 13 and conceding 3.

These are the results that came from the last qualifier round, that led them to book their trip to Qatar. 

South Korea Players to Watch

Does South Korea have the players to outperform the Uruguayan national team? Well, there are certainly three players that could be the thorn in their side. On their day, they will pester teams and can be game-changers. Something you might want to think about if you look at the alternative betting markets that Betiton hosts. 

• Heung Min Son: Position: Left Midfield. Unquestionably the best South Korean footballer of the past decade and arguably of all time. His stats include 104 caps, 33 goals, and 17 assists. The danger man Uruguay needs to contain.
• Ui Jo Hwang: Position: Striker. Goals are essential, and though appearances are low, the ratios from him are good. 47 caps, 16 goals, and 4 assists.
• Hee Chan Hwang: Position: Attacking Midfielder. With absolute blistering pace, the counter-attacking tactic will make Hwang a marked man, but Uruguay might just fail in doing that. He comes to Qatar with 47 caps, 8 goals, and 8 assists.

Uruguay vs South Korea Betting Odds

At Betiton, you can rest assured that you will have favourable WC 2022 betting odds and an extensive list of markets to select from and to add to your bet slip. Here are just two of the 300+ markets you can select your Uruguay vs South Korea odds from. 

Match Winner

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

Who Will Win? Uruguay vs South Korea Prediction

Uruguay is currently 13th in the FIFA rankings with South Korea in 28th place the gulf isn’t too big, but the heat at which Qatar will be, might just best suit the South Americas. It seems like an odd excuse for a team to win, but it is a telling factor. As far as football predictions go, everyone will put this down as a Uruguay banker, it will be far from an easy game. Uruguay has a strong team, but their attacking prowess is now of an age that might struggle with the zippy younger South Korean defence that has a very good record thus far in the build-up.

For our Uruguay vs South Korea prediction, we think it will be a close game, it could likely be a 0-0 score line given that the strengths and weaknesses of each team balance out. That said, don’t be surprised if an undeserving penalty leads to Uruguay stealing 3 points. Yes, that’s right, let’s just say that they have a habit of not playing fair.

Our Uruguay vs South Korea prediction: Uruguay.

Our Uruguay vs South Korea Betting Tips

As with regards to our World Cup tips, here are several bets that could be placed with this fixture that are possible: A 0-0 correct score.  A brave bet of 2-0 to Uruguay. A Uruguay win but both teams to score.  More than 2 yellow cards of Uruguay.