FIFA Confederations Cup 2013: Top five Players to watch out for when Uruguay face Nigeria

Where the Confederations Cup suffers in the idea of its conception, it makes up in its crisp format that offers virtual knockout matches so early in the competition. The group has a minnow like Tahiti that is likely to suffer miserable defeats in all its group games. For the sake of contrast, the group also has a formidable side like World Champions Spain that is likely to inflict such misery; and then, we have the match between Nigeria and Uruguay as the deciding contest in this group. Arena Fonte Nova will be the venue for the first international between these two teams. The fans will expect a spectacle close to what we saw in the game between Italy and Japan.

A lot will be on stake for both the teams given the background of mild upheaval that both are going through. Uruguay have not had a particularly good World Cup qualification campaign so far, and Oscar Tabarez’s role with the national side might be on the line in this game. On the other hand, Nigeria performance against Tahiti did not alleviate any concerns about their form. They were not convincing in attack and Nnamdi Oduamadi’s hat-trick apart, they have to improve tremendously. The internal politics of Nigerian football is always on the verge of a dirty spillover, and you cannot expect a smooth transition if Nigeria fail to turn up today. Some individual performances will also be closely monitored.

Here is a a list of five players who will matter when Nigeria take on Uruguay:

5. Diego Forlan

Oscar Tabarez has been criticized heavily for relying on the worn out legs of experienced campaigners like Diego Forlan and Diego Lugano. Forlan was substituted in the game against Spain and contributed modestly to the team’s overall lacklustre display. He is likely to get the nod ahead of the game against Nigeria as Tabarez goes for a three-pronged attack with Suarez and Cavani retaining their place in the side. It might be a make or break match for Forlan’s aspirations of 2014 World Cup.