Uruguay’s Godin is ready for ‘biggest’ World Cup of career
SUAREZ, CAVANI AND THE SKIPPER LOOK AT A POSSIBLE LAST HURRAH
Uruguay captain Diego Godin is expecting the “biggest World Cup” of his career when football’s flagship tournament kicks off in Russia next month.
The 32-year-old Atletico Madrid central defender will take part in his third World Cup and says he has never felt better leading into a major tournament, according to Xinhua.
“On a personal level, this will be my biggest World Cup due to my experience, my age, my form and my maturity,” Godin told Uruguayan radio station Rincon on Monday. “That’s why I want to enjoy it as much as possible and try to win it.”
Since making his debut in 2005, Godin has appeared in 116 football games for his national team.
His fellow national teammates, key attackers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are 31-yearolds and this could be the best time for the trio to win the World Cup.
Uruguay will begin their World Cup campaign against Egypt on June 15 and will also meet Saudi Arabia and Russia in the group stage.
Uruguay will enter the tournament high on confidence, having finished second behind Brazil in South America’s gruelling two-year World Cup qualifying tournament last October.
The two-time World Cup champions also won the China Cup in March by defeating Wales 1-0 in the final.
Godin lavished praise on national coach Oscar Tabarez, who took charge of the side after their failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Four years later in South Africa, he led the team to the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 40 years and in 2011 the Celeste won the Copa America as hosts.
North America bid
When asked if he imagined the national team without 71-yearold Tabarez in the dugout, Godin replied: “I honestly can’t. I don’t think anybody can. He has given us so much and we are so grateful. We feel that he still has plenty to give us.”
Meanwhile, Leaders of North America’s bid for the 2026 World Cup urged Fifa voters to ignore the “politics of the moment” yesterday as they promised to deliver a record-breaking multibillion-dollar profit for the global football showpiece.
In an address to the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) in Brussels, United States Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro said the 48-team tournament would hand Fifa a record $11 billion (Dh40 billion; €9.25 billion) profit.
The US-Canada-Mexico joint bid is battling against a rival bid from Morocco for the right to stage the 2026 tournament. FIFA members will decide the winner of the bidding race at a vote in Moscow on June 13.