(Football news) The La Celeste have been in terrific form since Diego Alonso took over from the legendary Oscar Tabarez at the end of last year. The sacking of Tabarez as Uruguay boss after an incredible 15 years in the job has somewhat thrown their preparation into disarray, despite the positive results on the pitch. Alonso has come into the side and completely transformed the team which was bottom of the CONMEBOL qualifiers table following some woeful results but he still does not know his best starting XI or best system for this team. Tabarez was dismissed after four successive defeats, including a humiliating 4-1 loss in Brazil and a 3-0 defeat away to Bolivia.

Alonso came into the side and won all four of his games with away wins against Chile and Paraguay. Luis Suarez is still at the centre of everything good in the national side as Alonso doesnt know which formation best suits his side, 4-4-2 and 4-3-2-1 have both been used often. Diego Alonso’s main job will be getting the best out of their wide array of attacking options in the squad and the likes of Suarez, Darwin Nunez, Edinson Cavani and Maxi Gomez have all been among the goals this year, with Uruguay almost averaging two goals per game. Alonso has repeatedly stated pre-tournament that they are aiming to be world cup champions again and on current form they cannot be discounted out of the title race.

South Korea on the other hand come into the tournament with an under-fire manager and a squad which is struck by injuries and has had an underwhelming build up to Qatar. In addition to that, their talisman Son Heung-min went off injured in the Champions League as he required surgery on a fractured eye socket. Son has come out and said that he will do whatever it takes to play, because without him, it will affect South Korea both mentally and ability-wise on the pitch.

If Paulo Bento opts to risk him from the start, there is a chance he will not be 100% having had such a disruptive preparation leading up to the tournament. With their attacking star a major doubt, that will put pressure on their solid defence, but after conceding just three goals in their 10 AFC final stage qualifiers, they have proved that their defence is rock solid. Despite their famous win over Germany in the last World Cup, they were left disappointed following losses to Mexico and Sweden which saw them eliminated at the group stage. They find themselves in a very difficult group and once again and they will need to cause at least one upset if they are to progress.

Uruguay possible starting lineup:

Rochet; Varela, Godin, Gimenez, Olivera; Bentancur, Vecino, Valverde; De Arrascaeta, L Suarez, Nunez

South Korea possible starting lineup:

Kim Seung-gyu; Kim Moon-hwan, Kim Young-gwon, Kim Min-jae, Kim Jin-su; Jung Woo-Young, Hwang In-beom, Lee Jae-sung; Hwang Hee-chan, Son Heung-min, Hwang Ui-jo

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