This is the third Fifa World Cup match between Uruguay and Korea Republic. So far, Uruguay have won both previous encounters: 1-0 in the 1990 group stages and 2-1 in the round of 16 of the 2010 edition, the latter courtesy of a Luis Suarez brace of goals.
This is Uruguay’s 14th Fifa World Cup participation, and their fourth in a row since 2010. It will be only the second time that they have participated in four consecutive World Cups (1962, 1966, 1970, 1974).
Uruguay have won six of their last eight Fifa World Cup games (L2). They won four matches at the 2018 edition in Russia (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Portugal), tying the most wins they have ever had in a single World Cup, after 1930 (Peru, Romania, Yugoslavia, Argentina).
Uruguay have won their opening match at just one of their last seven World Cup participations (D3 L3), though it did come last time out in 2018 against Egypt. Nonetheless, they have still progressed from the group stage in five of those seven editions.
This will be Korea Republic’s 11th Fifa World Cup tournament, the most of any Asian nation. Meanwhile, 2022 will be their 10th consecutive appearance at the finals, a run stretching back to 1986; only Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Spain are on longer current runs.
50 per cent of Korea Republic’s wins at the Fifa World Cup (3/6) came during the 2002 edition, when they hosted the tournament alongside Japan. In their nine other appearances, they’ve won only three out of 27 matches (D7 L17).
Catch the 2022 FIFA World Cup on SuperSport in 13 languages. Press "Options" on your remote for languages available in your region.
Among the 22 nations to have played 30 or more matches at the World Cup, Korea Republic have the lowest win ratio (18 per cent), having won just six of their 34 games across 10 editions.
Uruguay are the only team to have had two players score at each of the last three Fifa World Cup tournaments: Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani. Suárez needs one more World Cup goal to equal Oscar Miguez (8) as Uruguay’s top scorer at the tournament.
This will be the first World Cup since 2002 that the Uruguayan national team will be led by a coach other than Óscar Tabárez, who has coached each of their last 16 games at the tournament. Diego Alonso, the current coach and a World Cup debutant, took over in December 2021.
Son Heung-min, Korea Republic’s joint-top World Cup goalscorer of all time (3 goals), scored twice at the 2018 Fifa World Cup and once in 2014; he could become only the second player to score in three separate editions of the tournament for the nation, after Park Ji-Sung, who netted once in each of 2002, 2006 and 2010.
This will be Paulo Bento’s second Fifa World Cup tournament as manager – he failed to get past the group stages with Portugal in the 2014 edition (W1 D1 L1).