When you talk about of Uruguay and its hopes of winning a third FIFA World Cup title, you think of these two players. You can’t bring one up without the other. It’s been a while since a defensive-oriented, grind-it-out team like Uruguay has had two prolific scorers. Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez might be the best one-two punch on any World Cup roster.
Cavani, who was the victim of some unnecessary Neymar-filled drama this season at PSG, might be one of the most underrated strikers on the planet. He’s been the author of back-to-back 40-plus-goal seasons for his club, all while leading South American qualifiers in goals scored with 10. And we’re not even mentioning how valuable the long-haired, headband-wearing forward is to the team just based his ability to retreat and help out the midfield and defense from time to time.
As for Suarez, just like his former Barcelona teammate Neymar, this is a redemption tour. For many casual fans that only watch soccer during the World Cup, he was last spotted four years ago biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini before FIFA handed down a nine-match competitive international ban that spanned for more than a year. Since then, El Pistolero has scored 152 goals in 198 appearances over four years for Barcelona.