In only their second international fixture as a national team, the Uruguay A team will face Guatemala in a friendly on Sunday at Chase Stadium in Florida.
The first-ever international encounter for the Uruguay A team resulted in a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica, while La Bicolor were beaten 1-0 in a friendly versus El Salvador in their previous encounter.
Match preview
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On Sunday, we will get our second glimpse of the newly formed Uruguay A national team, an initiative announced in April by Jorge Giordano, Uruguay's director of national teams.
This match will be an opportunity for those who play locally to make an impression on Marcelo Bielsa and the senior squad, as this team is made up entirely of players currently featuring in Uruguay's top flight.
Although there is no permanent staff in place for this team, Diego Perez was named the first manager a few months ago and the man who was a part of the Uruguay senior side that reached the 2010 World Cup semi-finals and won the Copa America the following year, has a solid managerial resume to boast.
The ex-Monaco defensive midfielder served as an assistant to the Uruguay squad, which captured the 2023 Under-20 World Cup and the Under-20 South American Championship that same year.
Not one of the players selected for this encounter were a part of the Copa America squad this summer, with all of those players featuring in leagues outside of Uruguay.
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After a strong start to the month of June, which saw them win their opening two 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Guatemalans have regressed a little in recent matches.
Luis Fernando Tena's men won their two CONCACAF qualification fixtures by a combined margin of 9-0 but have since lost 4-1 to Argentina and 1-0 to El Salvador.
Sunday will be their final match before they commence a new CONCACAF Nations League campaign, where they narrowly managed to avoid relegation into League B last year, finishing a point above Curacao to claim fourth place in Group A.
The man who guided Mexico to the men's Olympic gold medal in 2012 has managed to keep this team consistent over the past couple of years, as this team have not lost three successive international encounters since 2022.
In their only previous meeting against Uruguay in 2015, Guatemala were beaten handily at Estadio Centenario, 5-1, with Edinson Cavani notching a brace for La Celeste.
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Team News
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Only three players named to the Uruguay A squad for this match were a part of their friendly against the Costa Ricans the last time out, Franco Pizzichillo, Santiago Cartagena and Matias Fonseca, the son of former Juventus midfielder Daniel Fonseca.
Fonseca is one of three players chosen for this encounter who features at Montevideo Wanderers in Uruguay along with Lucas Morales and Mauro Silveira, while Guillermo de Amores is currently the reserve goalkeeper at Penarol, a side that recently qualified for the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores.
Among the notable players selected for Guatemala were Carlos Mejia, who, along with Alejandro Galindo, is three appearances away from 50, while Nicholas Hagen, who started for the Columbus Crew when they captured the Leagues Cup last Sunday, is one appearance away from 40 with Los Chapines.
Mejia is one of three players who found the back of the net for them at the previous Nations League tournament, with the others being Rubio Rubin and Pedro Altan, all of whom were selected for this window.
Uruguay possible starting lineup:
De Amores; Pizzichillo, Viera, Magallanes, Monzon; W. Fernandez, Catarozzi, Cartagena; Machado, Schiappacasse, Fonseca
Guatemala possible starting lineup:
Hagen; Morales, Pinto, Ruiz, Ardon; Castellanos, Dominguez; Santis, Mejia, Galindo; Rubin
We say: Uruguay 0-0 Guatemala
The Guatemalans are traditionally a defensive squad, while little is known about this Uruguay squad, and we expect both sides to play conservatively given their nature and the fact that some big games are upcoming for each nation.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
