Tuesday 25 March 2025 14:00
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Manuel Ugarte will be facing a specific challenge with Uruguay, when they take on Boliva in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Manchester United midfielder is set to represent his country at the Estadio Municipal de El Alto, which is situated around 4,100 metres above sea level.
El Alto, which is Spanish for ‘The Heights’, is known as the highest major city in the world and the second-largest in Bolivia, after the administrative capital La Paz.
It is always difficult to play at altitude and this is set to provide a taxing examination of Marcelo Bielsa’s side, who have slipped to fourth in the South American table. Hosts Bolivia are in seventh, while there is also a huge game between Argentina and Brazil taking place in Buenos Aires.
Ugarte, who started our most recent match, the 3-0 win at Leicester City, had returned from a short lay-off and is looking forward to the challenges posed by playing in such inhospitable conditions.
“I’ve never played there before, so I’m not quite sure what to expect,” he said at a press conference. “They say it’s very complicated and different from a normal game.
“We need to stay compact defensively when we don’t have the ball and focus on catching our breath when we do possess it. That is going to be crucial. We’ll see how we cope with it.”
The 23-year-old missed the 1-0 home defeat to Argentina due to suspension but is expected to start Tuesday night’s encounter.
“We could have played much better and created more chances,” he said of the loss to the world champions. “But that’s behind us now.
“We need to focus on securing the three points against Bolivia.
“I had a hamstring injury last month but now I feel great as we approach the final stretch of the year.”
With the international fixtures drawing to a close, we look forward to welcoming our players back to Carrington ahead of next week’s Premier League clash at Nottingham Forest.
Manuel Ugarte is a vital part of the Uruguay set-up.
INTERNATIONAL REDS ON TUESDAY
SWEDEN (Lindelof) v Northern Ireland – 18:00 GMT CAMEROON v Libya (Onana) – 19:00 GMT GIBRALTAR (Scanlon) v Czech Republic – 19:45 GMT Bolivia v URUGUAY (Ugarte) – 20:00 GMT
MOROCCO v Tanzania (Mazraoui) – 21:30 GMT
Tuesday 25 March 2025 14:00
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