What is up with France's form as of late? Should we not look into the friendlies and be concerned? Is everyone going to stick with the Uruguay +.5 wager? Could Uruguay win flat out? 
From SBR site.
Uruguay is a dark horse candidate to advance out of a wide open Group A, and given that France has not played well in recent weeks, Los Charruas are legitimate underdog threats.
In what may be the most wide open of any of the World Cup groups, Group A play kicks off with Uruguay and France at Cape Town Stadium.
Les Bleus come into the World Cup with plenty of questions as their form in warm-ups was anything but solid. The French were beaten easily by Spain back in March, 2-0. France suffered a shocking 1-0 loss to China last week. Uruguay meanwhile head into their Cup opener perhaps now as a dark horse to advance from this group. The Central American outfit tuned up for France with a demolition of Israel, 4-1.
FRANCE
Injury concerns for defender William Gallas in the lead-up to the World Cup have eased some. He was able to play both against Tunisia and last week against China. Gallas is a key defender for France and would be missed greatly if his calf injury flares up at all.
The main problem for France seems to be getting the ball in the back of the net. Despite some impressive attacking options in Franck Ribery, Yoann Gourcuff, Thierry Henry and Nikolas Anelka, France has failed to score more than one goal in 4 of their 5 friendly matches since qualifying for the Cup. Age may have caught this group at the wrong time.
The keys for France to gain even a point against Uruguay lie with someone stepping up to score for Les Bleus. Ribery was a stud in club play in Germany with Bayern Munich. The World Cup could be a grand stage for him to garner even more interest. Goal keeper Hugo Lloris. Lloris is getting his first taste of the Cup at the age of 23, but may already be one of the top 10 keepers in the world right now.
URUGUAY
For Uruguay, Los Charruas will rely on the attacking of Atletico Madrid forward Diego Forlan for scoring. Paired with Luis Suarez, who had 10 goals in qualifying, Uruguay will be formidable up front. Defensively, where Uruguay struggles most, captain Diego Lugano will be relied on for his leadership and tackling ability. With a young defense overall, Lugano will have to be strong.
The keys for Uruguay will be to put pressure on France with an early goal. They will feel confident of working at least a draw if they can get on the scoreboard as France seems unlikely to score multiple goals.
Uruguay will likely start young keeper Fernando Muslera. Muslera earned his first international cap for this squad last October when they earned their qualification for the World Cup with a win over Ecuador. How he performs on the biggest of stages could determine whether Uruguay wins, draws or loses.
WAGERING OPTIONS
France is the betting favorite for this match at +111 with Uruguay a significant underdog at +288. The draw is listed at +235. The total is split at 2/2.5 with the under favored slightly at -115. Uruguay may be a little young along the backline and in net to keep France from scoring, but I also think they will score themselves.
For me, taking Uruguay +0.5 at -131 is the best bet here as I think they will earn at worst a draw and could certainly add to the French woes with an outright win.
From SBR site.
Uruguay is a dark horse candidate to advance out of a wide open Group A, and given that France has not played well in recent weeks, Los Charruas are legitimate underdog threats.
In what may be the most wide open of any of the World Cup groups, Group A play kicks off with Uruguay and France at Cape Town Stadium.
Les Bleus come into the World Cup with plenty of questions as their form in warm-ups was anything but solid. The French were beaten easily by Spain back in March, 2-0. France suffered a shocking 1-0 loss to China last week. Uruguay meanwhile head into their Cup opener perhaps now as a dark horse to advance from this group. The Central American outfit tuned up for France with a demolition of Israel, 4-1.
FRANCE
Injury concerns for defender William Gallas in the lead-up to the World Cup have eased some. He was able to play both against Tunisia and last week against China. Gallas is a key defender for France and would be missed greatly if his calf injury flares up at all. The main problem for France seems to be getting the ball in the back of the net. Despite some impressive attacking options in Franck Ribery, Yoann Gourcuff, Thierry Henry and Nikolas Anelka, France has failed to score more than one goal in 4 of their 5 friendly matches since qualifying for the Cup. Age may have caught this group at the wrong time.
The keys for France to gain even a point against Uruguay lie with someone stepping up to score for Les Bleus. Ribery was a stud in club play in Germany with Bayern Munich. The World Cup could be a grand stage for him to garner even more interest. Goal keeper Hugo Lloris. Lloris is getting his first taste of the Cup at the age of 23, but may already be one of the top 10 keepers in the world right now.
URUGUAY
For Uruguay, Los Charruas will rely on the attacking of Atletico Madrid forward Diego Forlan for scoring. Paired with Luis Suarez, who had 10 goals in qualifying, Uruguay will be formidable up front. Defensively, where Uruguay struggles most, captain Diego Lugano will be relied on for his leadership and tackling ability. With a young defense overall, Lugano will have to be strong.
The keys for Uruguay will be to put pressure on France with an early goal. They will feel confident of working at least a draw if they can get on the scoreboard as France seems unlikely to score multiple goals.
Uruguay will likely start young keeper Fernando Muslera. Muslera earned his first international cap for this squad last October when they earned their qualification for the World Cup with a win over Ecuador. How he performs on the biggest of stages could determine whether Uruguay wins, draws or loses.
WAGERING OPTIONS
France is the betting favorite for this match at +111 with Uruguay a significant underdog at +288. The draw is listed at +235. The total is split at 2/2.5 with the under favored slightly at -115. Uruguay may be a little young along the backline and in net to keep France from scoring, but I also think they will score themselves.
For me, taking Uruguay +0.5 at -131 is the best bet here as I think they will earn at worst a draw and could certainly add to the French woes with an outright win.
