CHATTANOOGA (United States) — Spain defender Aymeric Laporte said the European champions must be wary of an onslaught from Uruguay as Marcelo Bielsa’s side aim to avoid an embarrassing early World Cup exit.
The two sides face off in Guadalajara on Friday with a point enough for Spain to guarantee top spot in Group H.
Defeat would almost certainly condemn Uruguay to elimination after they could only draw with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde in their opening two games.
Spain failed to break down Cape Verde in a 0-0 draw, but inspired by the return of Lamine Yamal, bounced back to thrash Saudi Arabia 4-0.
“I think it’s clear they’re going to go all out, just as we would if we were in their position,” Laporte said according to AFP.
“That’s the standard for a previous winner that for sure aspires to advance past the group stage, but our fate is in our own hands.
“We know what we have to do, we are highly motivated to finish the group stage successfully and both teams will go all out.”
Laporte will come up against one of his former coaches in Bielsa, who gave the centre-back his debut during their time together at Athletic Bilbao.
In his third World Cup with three different countries, Bielsa has been fiercely criticised for not fostering a close relationship with his players since taking charge of Uruguay.
But Laporte had only good things to say about the Argentinian.
“He gave me my debut and then we crossed paths again in England,” said Laporte.
“We’ve spoken many times and I can only thank him for what he did for me.”
