Colombia vs Uruguay Prediction & Betting Tips - World Cup

Prediction published on 10/10/2023, 17:31  by Joseph King | Modified on 12/10/2023 at 08:30 in World Cup Prediction

The third of 18 matchdays in the grueling CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifying group continues on Thursday with third-place Colombia hosting fourth-place Uruguay. The expanded format of the qualifying group means that the top six teams now automatically advance to the World Cup Finals. Seventh-place enters into the Inter-confederations playoff. Colombia were agonizingly close to qualifying for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, finishing one point off the playoff and two points off automatic qualification. Los Cafeteros are off to a strong start this time around as they have been able to carry over the excellent form shown in recent friendlies. Nestor Lorenzo’s side started off with a 1-0 home win over Venezuela before earning a respectable point in a 0-0 away draw with Chile. Their four points puts them third, trailing leaders Brazil and Argentina by two points. Colombia are unbeaten since Lorenzo took the job in June of 2022, winning eight and drawing three of their 11 fixtures.

Uruguay started decently with a win and a loss from their first two qualifying fixtures. They were clinical against Chile in their opening match, netting three times to walk away with a 3-1 home win. They would lose their second match, however, falling 2-1 away from home to Ecuador four days later. There is cause for much optimism around the Uruguay camp as the highly-lauded Marcelo Bielsa was appointed manager of La Celeste in May of 2023. Since taking over, Uruguay have played four matches under their new manager. In typical Bielsa fashion, these have been high-scoring affairs with an average total goals mark of 3.5 per match. The former Leeds boss won his first three fixtures in charge before the away loss to Ecuador. Uruguay did not play well in that match, managing only five shots to Ecuador’s 15 and creating two clear cut chances while allowing four.