Two nations chasing World Cup glory will do battle today in a match between Colombia and Uruguay. The 2014 World Cup group-stage match scheduled for 4 p.m. ET will be held at the Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro and can be live streamed here free. A free Spanish language stream of the match can be found here. Free radio coverage here. Additional TV coverage can be found on ABC, Univision and ESPN Deportes.
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It's a battle of South American powers in Rio de Janeiro. Colombia enters today's match as comfortable qualifiers for the Round of 16. Uruguay, however, is amidst turmoil following the suspension and banning of Luis Suarez. Despite the suspension, history tips Uruguay ahead of today's clash. Even recent history according to Colombia head coach Jose Pekerman.
"We played them [Uruguay] twice in the recent qualifiers and had two very different results," he said (via FIFA). "Colombia played superb football to win the first of those matches 4-0, and in the second we faced an Uruguayan side with their backs to the wall. It was a very tight game, unlike the previous one, and they showed us what they are made of, winning 2-0. So, you could say that we're all square at the moment."
"If you look back, Uruguay have beaten us a lot more times than we have them (18 wins for La Celeste and 11 wins for Los Cafeteros), so they've always been very tough rivals for Colombia," Pekerman added. "This is the time for us to find out if we can change the course of history in a huge game in which there is a lot at stake."
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Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Assuming the role of the suspended Suarez for Uruguay is Diego Forlan. The 35-year-old no longer has the legs to compete at this level, but must find a way to provide a link and support to the team's leading striker, Edinson Cavani. Should Forlan fail to do so, Uruguay will have little, if anything to offer Colombia's potent defense.
Colombia's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Armero, Yepes, Zapata, Zuñiga; Sanchez, Aguilar; Ibarbo, James, Cuadrado; Teófilo
Uruguay's Projected Lineup (3-5-2): Muslera; Gimenez, Godin, Caceres; Pereira, Rodriguez, Ríos, Lodeiro, Gonzalez; Forlan, Cavani
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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