It was dull and boring, but the group’s wide open

June 11th, 2010 | by: Lugo | View Comments

La celeste managed to snatch a 0-0 draw against France. It certainly wasn’t a stunning display of attacking soccer but Uruguay can claim to be satisfied after today’s results seeing that with 2 more games to play any of the four teams can still qualify.

Altough la celeste seemed overwhelmed by France’s attack during the first 25 minutes, after Suarez had a sitter that he shot too weak to Lloris’ hands, Uruguay woke up and created some serious danger in the opposing area.

Sad about Lodeiro, but I’ll go deeper into it in my report card:

Muslera (8/10): What a jewel. The Lazio keeper showed why he singlehandedly earned his spot at both club and NT level. Outstanding saves and not bad with the ball in his feed either.

Victorino (6/10): Was losing composure in the second half and got a yellow which could have been a red. But other than that he performed rather acceptably. Nevertheless, his spot is compromised should Tabarez decide to revert to 4 defenders.

Lugano (7/10): Rock solid. France never did anything serious when he was in charge.

Godin (6.5/10): Decent effort, like the whole backline. Gets his head above Victorino because he was able to go “un-yelloed.”

Arevalo Ríos (7/10): Gargano what? Unvelievable. This guy had everybody’s eyes on the back of his neck because of Tabarez’s decision to sit Napoli’s anchorman. Well Arevalo did not disappoint at all. So even in the case of a formation switch, His spot should be safe.

Diego Pérez (6.5/10): The alleged “dirtiest player in the French league” showed today none of that. He just showed he’s a strong player who’s in command of his zone. He could have gone hard against some known adversaries, but he was well aware what kind of game this was.

A.Pereira: (6.5/10): Solid defending, showed good intentions attacking. But good intentions aren’t enough.

M. Pereira: (6/10): More focused on defense than his namesake. Closed the wing appropriately.

Ignacio Gonzalez (4/10): What a ghost. He probably went back to his Newcastle days with the non-football he showed today. Hey Nacho, when they tell you to play in the no.10 role is for a reason, and you completely forgot. Gonzalez’s performance makes me even sadder about Lodeiro’s red.

Luis Suarez (6/10): Not exactly a day in office for the Ajax hitman. He had two chances and none of them went in, and when you play in a 2-time world champion national team you have to make the most of whatever chances you get.

Diego Forlan (8.5/10): Go, Diego, go! This guy is pure passion, pure heart, you actually forget about any mistakes he makes when you see him giving 160% in every ball. But superstar strikers need to deliver more than just passion and commitment, and I’m sure Diego will. In any case, I’m sure SAF is moaning somewhere every time he sees Diego play.

Nicolas Lodeiro (2/10 substituting Gonzalez): What a disastrous debut. Two unnecesary yellows and he didn’t even lasted 20 minutes. I hope the kid has mental strenght because the uruguayan press is gonna come down hard on him.

Sebastian Abreu (3/10 substituting Suarez): Zero contribution. When you switch shirts 21 times in your club career well, there must be a reason. Cavani, somebody? hello? Please!!?

Eguren (N/A substituting Pérez) Just a sub to burn some seconds.

I think we’ll see la celeste a lot better in its next game. See ya soon.