DOHA (Reuters) – Uruguay play South Korea in the World Cup in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on Thursday.
When: Thursday, Nov. 24, 1600 local (1300 GMT/0800 ET)
Where: Education City Stadium
Capacity: 40,000
Odds:
Uruguay win: 3/4
South Korea win: 4/1
Draw: 12/5
Key stats:
* Uruguay, champions at the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and again in 1950, are at their 14th World Cup.
* Uruguay have reached the knockout stages in their last three appearances after failing to qualify in 2006 and reached the quarter-finals in Russia four years ago.
* South Korea, who are at their 10th consecutive World Cup and 11th overall, failed to get out of their group in the last two editions of the tournament.
* South Korea’s best performance at the World Cup was reaching the semi-finals in 2002, where they lost to Germany.
* Uruguay failed to win their opening match in six of their last seven World Cup appearances (L-3, D-3), but won all three of their group games in Russia in 2018 without conceding a goal.
* South Korea have not won their opening game at the last two editions of the World Cup (L-1, D-1) and have won two of their last nine World Cup matches (L-5, D-2). Their last victory was a stunning 2-0 upset of defending champions Germany in 2018.
Previous meetings: The two countries have met eight times, with Uruguay winning six, including two at the World Cups in 1990 and 2010. Korea won their only game against Uruguay in their most recent encounter in a friendly in 2018.
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Doha; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
