Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez put in a good shift in his World Cup debut on Thursday against South Korea, in a game which ultimately ended goalless. Looking ahead in the World Cup however, Uruguay fans will be expecting Liverpool’s number 27 will light it up in Qatar.

Nunez has impressed for Liverpool this season, after a £60 million move from Benfica in the summer. After an initial rocky start, getting sent off in his Premier League debut, Nunez found his feet and has scored nine goals in 18 games for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Going into the World Cup, the prospect of an in-form Nunez partnering former Reds striker Luis Suarez, along with Valencia forward Edinson Cavani, was exciting. However, the Uruguay line up against South Korea surprised many, with Cavani left on the bench, and Nunez starting on the left wing, as opposed to partnering Suarez up front.

Despite this, Nunez still had chances to win it for Uruguay. Early on in the game he narrowly missed a tap in at the back post, after a cross from Manchester United youngster Facundo Pellistri, who many expected Cavani to start over. In the second half, the ball fell to Nunez on the left, but he couldn’t find the necessary curl to put the ball past South Korea’s goalkeeper, Kim Seung-Gyu.

Nunez will be hoping that he can show some of that goalscoring form that we have seen for Liverpool in the upcoming games in the World Cup.

Nunez’s performance against South Korea did get mostly positive reviews from Uruguayan media, with El Telegrafo saying that he was ”let down by a lack of quality service.”  El Observador said that he was ”the modern version of Cavani,” and that he was ”as keen to help [defensively] as he was to launch himself on the attack.”

Uruguay have two games remaining in the group stage, first against Portugal on Monday, followed by Ghana on Friday. There is no doubt that Nunez will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing their defences who failed to impress in the first game, as Portugal narrowly beat Ghana 3-2.

There is still a long way to go in this World Cup, and if Uruguay can get their attack right with a possible change of shape, partnering Suarez or Cavani alongside the Liverpool forward, there is no doubt that Nunez will score goals in this tournament and could very well be the star man.

 

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