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Date: Monday, June 13th
Time: 10:00 PM Eastern (7:00 PM Pacific, 11:00 PM Uruguayan Time, 2:00 AM UTC)
Venue: Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, California)
Referees: Referee: Wilson Lamouroux (COL), Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL), Assistant Referee 2: Corey Parker (USA), Fourth Official: Ricardo Montero (CRC), Reserve Assistant: Juan Carlos Mora (CRC)
Television: FOX Sports 1 (USA), Univision Deportes (USA), UniMás (USA), SportsMax 2 (Jamaica), DIRECTV Play Deportes (Uruguay), DIRECTV Sports Uruguay
Streaming: FOX Sports GO, FOX Soccer 2GO, fuboTV
Neither team saw this coming. Uruguay was supposed to blow through the group stage, gracing the lowly likes of Venezuela, Mexico, and Jamaica with their presence en route to meetings with the Argentinas and Brazils. Jamaica was supposed to come in and make some noise - a rather sexy dark horse choice to advance at the start of the tournament. But things didn’t work out that way, and what could have been an exciting match between one of the world’s best and one of the world’s hottest is going to be a contractually obligated run-out.
How Uruguay will look: This has to go down as one of the biggest disappointments in Uruguayan soccer history, and manager Óscar Tabárez may be feeling like he is on the hot seat. Barcelona forward Luis Suárez missed the first two games due to injury, but if Tabárez is feeling the pressure he may press Suárez into service. Should he play, Suárez will likely pair up with Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, otherwise look for Cavani to link up with Cristhian Stuani or perhaps play as the lone striker in a 4-5-1. Midfielder Matias Vecino will be available for selection after picking up a red card in the opener against Mexico. Vecino will most likely pair with Boca Juniors’ Nicolás Lodeiro, Bordeaux’s Diego Rolán, and Monterrey’s Carlos Sánchez. On the back line, captain Diego Godin will most likely earn his 100th cap for La Celeste. He’ll be set up with his Atlético Madrid teammate José María Giménez, FC Porto’s Maxi Pereira, and either Getafe's Álvaro Pereira or Torino’s Gastón Silva. In net will almost certainly be Galatasaray’s Fernando Muslera - although like with the rest of the lineup comes a caveat: This match won’t effect the tournament so who knows who gets playing time.
How Jamaica will look: Jamaica will get back the services of captain and midfielder. Rodolph Austin as well as manager Winfried Schäfer - both of whom were shown a red card during the opening match against Venezuela. Up top for the Reggae Boyz, Birmingham City’s Clayton Donaldson has paired with Houston Dynamo’s Giles Barnes, however Donaldson’s play against Mexico was roundly criticized so the aging striker may be replaced with either Dever Orgill or Allan Ottey - both of whom are significantly younger than the 32 year old Donaldson. The midfield will most likely consist of Austin, Leyton Orient’s Jobi McAnuff, Chelsea’s Michael Hector, and Reading FC’s Garath McCleary, while New England Revolution’s Je-Vaughn Watson, Crystal Palace’s Adrian Mariappa, Leicester City’s Wes Morgan, and Portland Timbers’ Jermaine Taylor will most likely form Jamaica's back line. And while these ten come with the same caveat that the Uruguayan lineup does, the goalkeeper will almost certainly be the Philadelphia Union’s Andre Blake. Blake has really played well, and didn’t deserve to give up the three goals that Jamaica have conceded during the tournament. It’s a shame that Jamaica’s offense has been inept, because seeing Blake and the Reggae Boyz continue on into the tournament would have been something special. Union fans can take heart though that he’ll be back in net for the Union when they face off against New York City FC on Saturday, June 18.
What to expect: Lots of cheap tickets will probably be available on the secondary market. Oh from the match itself? Neither Uruguay nor Jamaica have been able to score, with Uruguay having the only goal between the two teams. That being said, this could be a decent match between two teams with something to prove.
Day 11 schedule: Mexico vs. Venezuela 8:00 PM Eastern at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX
Uruguay vs. Jamaica 10:00 PM Eastern at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA