On Thursday night, Colombia and Uruguay go head-to-head in the South American section of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Colombia form guideLos Cafeteros have taken four points from their opening two qualifiers and are in third place in the standings. Last time out in qualifying, a goalless draw with Chile made the home team unbeaten in their previous 13 internationals. However, the draw ended a four-game winning run.
Colombia have been strong in defence of late, as they have kept four consecutive clean sheets while keeping six in their previous eight international matches.
Their recent record in World Cup qualifying is decent, as the draw against Chile extended their unbeaten run in qualifiers to four matches.
Although Colombia has recorded back-to-back home wins in qualifying, they have won just three of their last nine home qualifiers. Their recent home outings have been tight, low-scoring affairs, with under 2.5 goals scored in five of their previous six matches.
Uruguay form guideThe visitors saw a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions end last time out, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat in Ecuador. The loss also ended a four-match winning run in competitive action for Uruguay.
The defeat last time out continued a high-scoring trend for Uruguay games of late, as four of their previous five matches produced over 2.5 goals.
Despite the loss in their last game, Uruguay have still won five of their last six matches in World Cup qualifying.
However, their recent away record in qualifying is not so impressive, as they won just two of their last eight away qualifiers while losing four of their last six matches in qualifying on their travels.
What am I backing?Both teams have been in decent form of late. However, Colombia are not great on home soil, while Uruguay have travelled poorly in recent qualifiers. The bet I am backing is for a close-fought draw.
