Uruguay got their World Cup campaign underway this afternoon, with the South American nation being held to a 1-1 draw against South Korea.
Heading into the tournament, it was difficult to know what to expect from the Uruguayans. They have plenty of talent in their squad, with some tipping them to be dark horses in Qatar. However, others felt that they did not possess the type of cohesiveness that would be required to make a deep run in the event.
A lot of it will likely come down to Darwin Nunez.
The Liverpool striker has shown some flashes of real potential this season, but it is also clear that he is quite raw and has plenty of developing to do. He was probably Uruguay's best player in the game against South Korea, despite the fact that he was shifted out wide in order to accommodate Luis Suarez in the team.
🇺🇾 0-0 🇰🇷
Darwin Nunez flashes a shot across goal in a rare second-half chance
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Some big performances will be required from the 23-year old if they are to make their stay in the Middle East a long one.
Kevin Doyle makes interesting Darwin Nunez comparison
It is difficult to know how the presence of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani in the Uruguay squad affects Darwin Nunez.
The fact that he is playing out wide to allow that pair to play does take away from his game somewhat, with the forward at his best when inside the penalty area. In saying that, it might help to have some experienced players who were once at the very top of the game to learn from.
He is very raw at the moment, with Kevin Doyle making an interesting comparison to one of his former teammates.
Speaking on RTÉ, the ex-Ireland star said Nunez reminded him of a young Shane Long in that he has a huge amount of talent that still needs to be unlocked.
Darwin Nunez was out wide, he tried and put a lot of effort on him. He was their brightest spark, struggled with his final ball and end product.
I feel that he's wasted out wide, but you have to play him out there to get Suarez and Cavani into that central position because they don't have the legs to be out there...
That is the negative for him at the moment I suppose, he needs a few chances. But listen, he's still young. Liverpool spent a lot of money on him, but you need to forget about that. He's a work in progress and I think he will get better and better...
Shane Long was very raw when he was younger. I remember him coming to Reading, he brought raw pace but he needed help and coaching. He had played GAA growing up and very little football.
He got the coaching, but I'd say if he had got more football coaching when he was younger he would have had the ability to be a really, really top player. He was a top player anyway, but to get to the very, very top.
He was one I saw sort of like Nunez. He was raw, maybe a couple of chances needed, but when you have that pace you have half a chance. If you have that and you're willing to be coached and learn, Nunez looks like he is.
When I was with Shane Long, he was that type of player as well, willing to learn and be patient, look at other players and see what they did.
I think Nunez comes across as that player, as a good guy who just wants to improve.
Of course, Darwin Nunez likely has a ceiling that is much higher than that of Shane Long. He has already convinced Liverpool to fork out a fee of up to £85million to bring him to Anfield.
However, it is certainly fair to say that the pair have a similar type of game and appetite to improve.
It will be interesting to see how the Uruguayan develops over the course of this World Cup.
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