Quarter finals continued...

So, here we are, after what seems like an eternity without football we are back today with the first 2 Quarter-Finals of this World Cup. I have looked at Brazil v Holland in my previous post so I will cast my glance towards Uruguay v Ghana in the underdogs game tonight. One of these 2 will make the Semi-Finals this year!
Both of these teams probably wouldn't have expected to make the Semi-Finals before the tournament began and yet one of them will do. As it goes, Uruguay were my tip pre-tournament for an outsider and I'm very happy with my investment at 200/1! But, to show I'm no genius I thought Ghana would really struggle in the absence of Chelsea's Michael Essien and yet here they are.

Uruguay v Ghana, Kick-Off 730pm UK Time

Defence
Ghana are a physically imposing team throughout the pitch and that is definitely true in defence. The full-backs are John Paintsil of Fulham at right back and Hans Sarpei of Leverkusen at left back. Paintsil might have failed to make it at West Ham, but flourished under Roy Hodgson at Fulham. I think he's a very good player who is capable of helping out in both defence and attack. Sarpei is 34 now and coming to the end of his career. This somewhat limits his attacking forays, but his experience means that he can still be very useful in defence. In the centre of defence are 2 behemoths of men in John Mensah of Sunderland and normally Samuel Inkoom of FC Basel. Mensah is by far the more experienced of the 2 with Inkoom only 20 years old and a graduate of the very successful under-21 team of last year. Defence has been Ghana's strong suit in this World Cup so far and I wouldn't expect Uruguay to get much change out of them, they will have to make the most of any chances that come their way.
Uruguay have a much more experienced and settled squad generally and this has been borne out in some very good team displays in defence so far. They also have the experience of playing in Europe which some of their Ghanaian counterparts don not yet. Victorino and Fucile lined up in the full-back positions and I would expect them to do the same for this match. Both are very solid full-backs, capable of defending and attacking as required, and Jorge Fucile has particularly impressed me so far in the tournament and for Porto last year. At centre back the pair I would expect to see is the 2 Diego's, Lugano of Fenerbahce and Godin of Villarreal. These 2 have played together for a few years now for Uruguay and you can see the understanding that has developed. Personally, I would expect Diego Godin to move to one of Europe's bigger clubs before long. In back-up they also have the highly rated Martin Caceres of Barcelona who can slot in at right-back or centre half. I really don't see them having too much trouble containing Asamoah Gyan.

Midfield
Ghana's midfield is missing the presence of their 2 most famous recent players, Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah. Whilst Appiah is present in South Africa he isn't a starter anymore. A lot of people, me included, thought they might struggle in their absence. But, they have actually been very impressive and have shown us some of the future stars we might soon see in Europe's big leagues. The 2 Boateng's started in the centre in their last match against the USA, Kevin-Prince of Portsmouth and Derek of Getafe. Kevin was one of the few bright spots in Portsmouth's campaign last year and has carried that form over into the World Cup. Anthony Annan is a very promising midfielder too who has been linked with a big move before and was looking good until injury struck in the last group game. He might be fitter for this though, and provides a creative edge they miss in his absence. Sulley Muntari, Jonathon Mensah and Andre Ayew make-up the 5 man midfield. Mensah is a huge presence and often sits in front of the defence providing extra cover. Muntari is good one minute and horrendous the next as anyone who has followed him at Portsmouth or Inter Milan will back me up on! Andre Ayew is a typically athletic midfielder who does the simple things well and covers a lot of ground. I think Ghana need Anthony Annan to be firing on all cylinders to have a chance as without that they look one dimensional and flat and very unlikely to score.
Uruguay are a blend of youth and experience in midfield. Maxi Pereira is a defender by trade and often plays the part of a holding midfielder in this team with very little remit to get beyond the halfway line. Whilst not his natural postion he seems to have adappted well to the role and does provide security for Uruguay's 3 attackers to stay upfield. Alvaro Pereira and Egidio Arévalo Ríos play a bit ahead of Maxi Pereira and supply Diego Forlan with the ball to create opportunities for himself and the other 2 attackers. Both are good players with Alvaro Pereira already in Europe at 19 at FC Porto and showing a lot of promise when given game time. Nicolas Lodeiro is at Ajax and is considered the big creative hope of Uruguyan football, however the coach, Oscar Tabares, doesn't seem to trust him enough to start yet. Expect to see him introduced late on to open up Ghana if Uruguay are tired. Sebastien Eguren is another who might feature, he is more of a defensive player and has a lot of European experience. I would expect Ghana to flood the midfield to try and stop the supply lines to Diego Forlan, but I can see Uruguay's experience telling and winning this battle.

Attackers
This is where Ghana have traditionally had problems and that has continued in this World Cup. Asamoah Gyan is ther lone striker and he has not massively impressed me so far. If you just look at the Top Goalscorer leaderboard and see his name with 3 goals next to it, you'd probably wonder what more he has to do to impress me? Well, 2 of those were penalties and in open play he looks cumbersome and his finishing isn't great either in my opinion. He will really need to up his game if he's going to score tonight and I think Uruguay's defence will marshal him with ease.
Uruguay have one of my favourite players Diego Forlan playing for them. In my opinion he is a vastly under-rated player in this country. European Golden Boot Winner in 2 of the last 3 years and not playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona is one hell of an achievement for me and one he doesn't get enough recognition for. He has performed more of a creative role in this World Cup but has 2 goals and is laying on lots of chances for his strike partner Luis Suarez of Ajax. Talking of whom has 3 goals so far and scored 49 in all competitions for Ajax last year. I can see hm getting 1 or 2 more here and providing David Villa with a challenge for the Golden Boot as well as probably earning a big move. The trio of attackers is made up by Edinson Cavani of Palermo. A player recently linked with Tottenham and a very creative influence too. I think he'll get his move to a bigger club this summer and go on to have a great impact wherever he ends up. I can see these 3 giving Ghana's defence all sorts of problems and I think if they score early they could go on to get 3 or even 4.

Betting
Both of these teams are tight at the back, but Ghana are also pretty toothless up front, so I'll back Uruguay to keep a clean sheet at a best priced 5/4 wih Coral and Ladbrokes. I'd also have the 2nd half as the half with most goals at a best priced 6/5 with Victor Chandler. I'll take Uruguay to do the job in 90 minutes with 11/10 widely available. For a longer shot I would probably look at 3-0 or 4-0 scorelines to Uruguay, these can be backed at around 20/1 and 50/1 respectively. Forlan and Suarez lead the betting at 9'2 and 11/2 for First Goalscorer and I'd look at that too.