Uruguay v France 2010

Monday, 24th May 2010 at 12:10pm

The opening day fixture of Uruguay vs France on June 11 will pit two former winners of the tournament against each other in a match that is likely to have a big impact on who progresses to the round of 16.

Two-time World Cup champions Uruguay snuck into the finals, finishing fifth in the South American qualifying section, having lost six matches, before pipping Costa Rica to the last World Cup space with a 2-1 aggregate win.

France, champions in 1998, also struggled in their qualifying group, finishing runner up to Serbia, and then needed the help of a deliberate Thierry Henry handball to overcome a resilient Ireland in Paris.

Under current coach Raymond Domenech, France has struggled to live up to its billing as one of the top teams in world football, despite having a wealth of talent at its disposal.

Despite its ranks being filled by players from European football's leading clubs - Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal to name but a few - Domenech's men have looked unconvincing in their recent displays, were soundly beaten by Spain in Paris in March, and have struggled for goals; France has only scored more than one goal in a match twice in their past 10 games.

Despite a lack of goals, Domenech has seen it prudent to leave out Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, once described as 'the future of French Football', on the back of a poor season in Spain after joining the Spanish giants last summer.

This decision could come back to haunt Domenech as he looks to sign off his six-year spell in charge of Les Blues, although he can still call on the services of Nicholas Anelka, Florent Malouda and Frank Ribery to fire the goals the French need.

Goals have come easily for the sky blues of Uruguay. Only Brazil and Chile scored more in qualifying and La Celeste boasts two of world football's most prolific strikers in Athletico Madrid's Diego Forland and Ajax's Luis Suarez.

Suarez has hit 97 goals in just 132 games for the Dutch giants, while Forlan has scored 145 goals in six seasons since leaving the Premier League for La Liga and has been awarded the European Shoe twice.

Uruguay's problems lie at the back. They conceded an average of two goals per game during qualification and Domenech will have identified this as a weakness to be exploited by his skilful front men.

A win in the first match of a tournament can make the difference between a good and a bad campaign and France should have too much quality in its side to overcome Uruguay, but have slipped up in opening matches in the past and Forlan and his men will be ready to pounce on any chance that comes their way.

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