PARIS - After a crushing defeat in Colombia on Friday, reigning South American champions Uruguay need a positive reaction when they face Ecuador as South American qualifying for the 2014 World Cup continues today.
Le Celeste had gone 18 matches without defeat before suffering a 4-0 reverse in the sweltering heat of Barranquilla, never recovering after Radamel Falcao gave Colombia a second-minute lead.
Now Oscar Tabarez's side find themselves occupying the fourth and final automatic qualifying berth, a point behind Ecuador ahead of their showdown in Montevideo.
"I'm not worried about the morale of the players because it's not as if they were just born last week, I know what they can do and I believe in these players more than ever before," said the veteran coach, who led his team to the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.