La Celeste taking third-place battle seriously

FIFA World Cup Fixtures

Today (Third place play-off)
Uruguay vs Germany - 8.30pm

Sunday (Final)

Netherlands vs Spain - Soccer City (8.30pm)  

OSCAR Tabarez insists Uruguay are ready to ‘fight to the death’ in today’s third place World Cup play-off against Germany.

The clash of the losing semi-finalists has over the years grown to be viewed by many as not much more than a glorified friendly between two sides deflated from missing out on the final.

But La Celeste boss Tabarez is adamant his team is taking the match very seriously.

"This is a very difficult game,” said Tabarez.
"Yes, fourth position is not the same as others, but we will go in with the same commitment and enthusiasm like we did in the encounter against Holland.

"We have no assurance that we will win, but we will prepare ourselves to fight to the death.”

The South Americans lost out on a place in the final when they went down to the Netherlands 3-2 on Tuesday.

Tabarez is expecting Germany, who fell to Spain in the semis, to approach today’s clash with all guns blazing.

"At the moment, Germany and Uruguay have both secured fourth place by reaching the semi-final,” he said.
"But the challenge for Uruguay is to finish third in the World Cup.

Tabarez has also tipped Spain to go on and lift the trophy on Sunday.

"For this kind of game, I think the defence will be a key element,” he added.

"And I think Spain is a little better than Holland in this area and they are also very good with possession overall.

Agencies