Montevideo (AFP)
Back in great shape with his selection, center forward Edinson Cavani finds the former defensive axis of PSG Marquinhos-Thiago Silva for a Uruguay-Brazil shock that looks like a reunion, Tuesday in Montevideo (23:00 GMT) in qualifying for the World Cup -2022 for the South American zone.
With just three games left with his new club Manchester United, Cavani made a comeback in the Celeste jersey on Saturday at Barranquilla, where Uruguay inflicted on Colombia their biggest defeat on home soil in qualifying for the World Cup (3-0).
Paris SG's all-time top scorer (200 goals) only needed five minutes in the first period to open the scoring and bring his tally to 51 goals in 117 caps.
Against Brazil, "Edi" will be deprived of his accomplice in attack, Luis Suarez, tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, and will therefore be the offensive spearhead of Celeste.
- No reunion with Neymar -
The great success of Uruguay in Colombia, direct competitor for the 2022 World Cup, made Tuesday's poster against Brazil at the Centenario stadium the first shock of these South American qualifiers.
Because so far the Seleçao, alone in the lead with nine points after three matches against smaller teams (Peru, Bolivia Venezuela), has not yet had a too tough confrontation.
On Saturday, the Brazilians struggled but won against Venezuela (1-0), which has not yet scored a goal in the competition.
The absence of Neymar, who had a groin injury and returned to France, weighed on the creativity of the Brazilian attack, despite the presence of three major Premier League strikers: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Firmino (Liverpool) and Richarlison ( Everton).
Without the star of PSG, nor midfielders Casemiro (Real Madrid) and Coutinho (Barcelona), Tite's team has long appeared without imagination to force the Venezuelan lock.
- "A war" -
Against Cavani, 33 years old and in great shape, Brazil will have to rely above all on his defense.
And who better than the ex-Parisian couple Marquinhos-Thiago Silva to anticipate Cavani's movements?
The Parisian captain and his predecessor, who left for Chelsea in the offseason, know by heart the game of the Uruguayan with whom they spent five seasons in the jersey of PSG.
If Cavani played, without knowing it, his last match with PSG in the Champions League against Dortmund on March 11 before the suspension of competitions due to the pandemic, he already met Thiago Silva again last October when Manchester United stumbled. on Chelsea (0-0).
The reunion with Neymar, with whom the cohabitation has sometimes been stormy, will have to wait for the return match.
"Uruguay is playing at home and I think it will have to offer a little more play, it will work in our favor (...). It's easier when we have a little more space", said central defense chief Thiago Silva.
"We know that a match against Uruguay is always a war. We have to be prepared. It's a solid team, we know its traditions of engagement and its kicking qualities, with a very good defense", warned Marquinhos.
© 2020 AFP