Uruguay FIFA 18 World Cup guide, squad, player ratings, tactics, formation & tips

Uruguay have a fantastic record in the World Cup. The South American nation won the first two World Cups they participated in and have not got passed the group stage on three occasions. 

2010 was their most successful tournament in recent times, finishing fourth, despite plenty of controversy with Luis Suarez’s handball against Ghana in the quarterfinals.

The 2018 World Cup in Russia will likely be Uruguay’s last with the frightening strike duo of Edinson Cavani and Suarez. Can you make the most of arguably the best strike force at the World Cup on the update for FIFA 18?

Team rating

Uruguay have a 4 and a half star rating on the World Cup update, consisting of an 86 attack, 77 midfield and 80 defence. 

Uruguay’s potential World Cup fixtures

Group Stage

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

Russia

Round of 16

Portugal

Quarterfinals

France

Semifinals

Brazil or Belgium

Final

Spain/Argentina/Germany

Uruguay have been handed a very kind group at the World Cup this summer. La Celeste will be targeting three wins against Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Russia, although there is a capacity for an upset.

In your opening game, keeping the Egyptian King Mohamed Salah quiet will be the key, and hosts Russia will have the nation behind them. 

A generous Group A is followed by a challenging Round of 16 fixture. Portugal are likely to finish behind Spain in their group, meaning your first knockout tie will be against the European Champions. Make sure you don’t give the best player on the game Cristiano Ronaldo an inch.

If you defeat the Portuguese, another step up in quality comes against France. Les Bleus hold plenty of pace, and you will need to sit deep to nullify them. Their lack of experience could play into your hands although you will need to perform a tactical masterclass to come through this one.

Brazil or Belgium will be waiting in the semifinals, and one struggles to see a route past them for Uruguay. You do have Cavani and Suarez up front, and you will need all of that firepower to take you the rest of the way, especially with Spain, Argentina or Germany possible opponents in the final. 

Formation

Uruguay use a 4-4-2 formation, and you should stick with this system to allow the strike pairing to cause havoc. 

Fernando Muslera is in goal, with a back four made up by Maxi Pereira, hard man Diego Godin (89 aggression), Jose Gimenez and Martin Caceres.

Nicolas Lodeiro, Lucas Torreira, Matias Vecino and Diego Laxalt are in midfield as Edinson Cavani (88 finishing) and Luis Suarez tear things up at the top of the pitch.

On the bench go for Martin Campana, Sebastian Coates, Alvaro Pereira, Rodrigo Bentancur, Carlos Andres Sanchez, Gaston Ramirez and Cristhian Stuani. 

Tactics

It may seem obvious, but you need to feed the strike pairing of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez. The taller Cavani can provide the aerial threat (89 heading accuracy & power header trait), whilst Suarez can find space to score (91 attack positioning). If you find half a yard with these two, strike at goal.

They will need service, and it looks like the pacey Diego Laxalt (90 spring speed) will be your go-to man. To ensure he gets into attacking positions, on the instructions tab select ‘stay wide’ for chance creation and ‘get in behind’ for support runs. 

You shouldn’t have too much to worry about defensively in the group stage, but for the knockouts you will have to change your mentality. Tricks to help you defend the more dangerous opponents is to reign your full backs in by changing their attacking runs to ‘stay back while attacking’ and doing the same for one of your central midfielders.

Grind out results

Uruguay have a reputation of being a tough nut to crack, and judging by their squad for Russia, it looks to be no different this summer. After the group stages, your performances won’t be pretty, but you can suffocate the opposition and use your strike partnership to hurt teams on the counter.

The quarterfinals should be your aim, but even that will not be an easy task. With Cavani and Suarez in attack, even the long ball is an option, and with both players holding a host of attacking attributes, you can trouble any defence. 

Uruguay squad player ratings