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Uruguay will host Brazil on Wednesday morning in a 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. The qualifying campaign is just three games old but both sides currently sit inside the top six, which is where they need to be in order to secure their place at the next World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The recent head-to-head record favours Brazil but in front of a packed home crowd, Uruguay will be confident of springing an upset.
Uruguay vs Brazil predicted lineups
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Uruguay vs Brazil World Cup qualifying team news
Uruguay
Since Marcelo Bielsa took charge of the national team in May, Uruguay have shown flashes of brilliance in each game they have played but particularly at home. In three home games under Bielsa, Uruguay have a 100% record but have struggled on the road in their last two matches.
Last Thursday, they played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Colombia and Bielsa will be tempted to stick with the same eleven for the sake of consistency and rhythm. Bielsa has no fresh injury concerns from the clash with Colombia and the only changes he may be tempted to make could be to start with a couple of players who impressed off the bench last Thursday.
Manchester United winger, Facundo Pellistri, and Joaquin Piquerez both put in disappointing displays in the first half of the match and were hooked at half time. They were replaced by Mathias Olivera and Cristian Olivera with the former getting on the scoresheet just minutes after being introduced. As ever, Bielsa will be relying on Darwin Nunez to provide the goalscoring threat for his team.
Uruguay predicted lineup
Mele – Nandez, Araujo, Caceres, M.Olivera – Ugarte, Valverde – C.Olivera, De la Cruz, Rodriguez – Nunez
Brazil
Ahead of the match, Neymar has once again been attracting plenty of media speculation. The Al-Hilal forward reportedly threatened to not travel to Uruguay for the match after he was struck by popcorn in Brazil’s match against Venezuela but is in Montevideo and will start against Uruguay on Wednesday.
While Neymar’s selection is a no-brainer, interim boss Fernando Diniz does have a few issues that need ironing out in terms of squad selection. Casemiro was forced with an ankle injury against Venezuela and he is expected to miss the match with Uruguay. Either Flamengo midfielder, Gerson, or Fluminese man, Andre, will come in to replace the Manchester United midfielder.
Another player who started the match against Venezuela who is unavailable for this match is Danilo. The Juventus full-back was taken off in the first half with a muscle problem and has now left the camp to receive treatment in Italy. Yan Couto, who came on for Danilo against Venezuela, is expected to start in his place.
Brazil predicted lineup
Ederson – Couto, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Arana – Guimaraes, Andre – Rodrygo, Neymar, Vinicius – Richarlison
Featured duel: Neymar vs Araujo
Over the course of his impressive career, Neymar has scored three times against Uruguay and will be looking to add to that on Wednesday to silence those who claim his career ended when he moved to Saudi Arabia. He will come up against some fearsome defenders when Brazil take on Uruguay with the main man at the back for Bielsa’s men being Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo.
This will be the first time that Neymar has come up against Araujo with the defender missing previous fixtures with Brazil with injury problems. His pace and physicality are a problem for anyone so Neymar will be looking to use his trickery to get around the Barcelona man when the game gets underway at 01:00 UK time.
Uruguay vs Brazil predicted lineup – The final word
This is a fascinating match-up between two teams who are going to attack each other. The absence of Casemiro in midfield could open the game up even more which could play into the hands of the home team who will be determined to end their 12-match winless run against Brazil.
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