Cavani wants Uruguay respect

Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani believes his country will gain respect if they secure their place at the FIFA World Cup.

Cavani was on the scoresheet as Uruguay all but confirmed their place at Brazil 2014 with a 5-0 victory in the away leg of their intercontinental play-off against Jordan last Wednesday.

Oscar Tabarez’s side host Jordan in the return fixture on Wednesday and Paris Saint-Germain striker Cavani feels qualification for next year’s showpiece would cement the 2011 Copa America winners’ reputation on the international stage.

“I’ve heard there are some teams that won’t be very happy with Uruguay qualifying for the World Cup,” he said.

“It means that Uruguay have achieved respect in time thanks to the work of the players and the whole team. Therefore, we are glad to know there are other teams who don’t sympathise with our success in this competition.”

Even though it would take a miraculous comeback from Jordan to deny Uruguay their place at the World Cup, Cavani has urged his team-mates to show the same level of intensity they displayed in Amman in the second leg.

“To be honest, I think the team has a different motivation and a different pressure compared to the first leg,” the 26-year-old added.

“The match on Wednesday against Jordan is very important for us because it’s the last one, even when we have the mentality to be very close to our aim.

“That is the way we will confront the situation, trying to have the same level of competitiveness as we had in the previous matches.”