The Uruguay vs Tahiti match will take place on June 23, 2013 (12:00 PM Pacific) at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife. Uruguay will move on to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup with a win over Tahiti and a Nigerian loss or draw against Spain. If Nigeria defeats Spain, Uruguay must score at least 6 or more goals against Tahiti to beat the Nigerians in goal differential.
The Tahitian story will come to an end today, the Polynesian side has tried to stay true to its playing style, refusing to park the bus like so many minnows around the world do when facing superior opposition. Instead, Tahiti has played with a standard formation, attempted attacks with many players, and even got to score a historic goal against Nigeria. This has come at a cost however, the Tahitians have allowed 16 goals in 2 matches.
Unfortunately for the Tahitians, Uruguay will come in with a mindset to score as many goals as possible. Uruguay needs to make sure they end up with a big goal differential, in order to ensure that even if Nigeria defeats Spain, Uruguay goes through with a better goal differential.
The Uruguay vs Tahiti game will likely be another lopsided, high-scoring game. However, Tahiti may attempt a different style to avoid allowing as many goals as it did against Spain. Tahitian Goalkeeper Roche stated that Tahiti will attempt a more defensive approach to reduce the space for the Uruguayan attackers (source: FIFA.com). It’s likely that after playing two matches with an offensive scheme, the Tahitians might attempt to park the bus and see if they can allow less than 6 goals this match.
Uruguay vs Tahiti Prediction
The Uruguay vs Tahiti match will end in a victory for the South American side, that is not in question. The real challenge is guessing whether Tahiti will allow less or more than 5 goals. Against Spain and Nigeria, the Tahitians played an open style that threw many men on the attack, leaving huge openings in its defense. If Tahiti plays with a defensive approach against Uruguay, I believe Tahiti can hold off the Uruguayans at the 4 or 5 goal mark.
The Uruguay vs Tahiti Confederations Cup match will end 5-0. This victory should prove to be enough for Uruguay to move on to the semifinals to face Brazil.
Uruguay vs Tahiti Television
The Uruguay vs Tahiti match will be televised on June 23, 2013 at 12:00 PM Pacific on ESPN 2 and Univision Deportes.
