Uruguay send World Cup warning to France

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez has warned group A rivals France that his team fully intend winning their World Cup opener on June 11.

Uruguay trounced Switzerland and Israel 3-1 and 4-1 respectively in recent friendlies and Tabarez is looking for the same kind of result against Raymond Domenech’s Bleus on the opening day of the tournament.

“In my humble opinion I think we can make life difficult for France,” Tabarez said Monday.

“They won’t dictate how we play our football. They’ll have a lot of respect for our team and we’d love a repeat of the kind of performances we had against Israel and Switzerland.”

Tabarez knows Domenech relatively well, the pair having become acquainted while earning their coaching credentials with FIFA, the sport’s world ruling body.

Uruguay are set to leave for South Africa on Friday.

In Group A they will also meet hosts South Africa and Mexico.