Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez are similarly deadly, says Sebastian Coates ahead of England's clash with Uruguay

• Sebastian Coates plays with both Suarez and Sturridge at Liverpool
• Suarez and Sturridge face off in England vs Uruguay on Thursday
• Both nations lost their opening game of the World Cup in Brazil
• Coates looking to work his way back into the Liverpool set-up
  

By Pete Jenson for MailOnline

Published: 11:23 EDT, 17 June 2014 | Updated: 18:31 EDT, 17 June 2014

Few men are better placed to judge the duel between Liverpool strikers Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez Thursday night in the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo than Sebastian Coates.

The giant 23-year-old defender sits next to the England striker in the Liverpool dressing room, or at least did do until he went out on loan to Uruguay’s Nacional in January. That’s Nacional, the former club of Suarez, who took Coates under his wing when he joined Liverpool back in 2011.

'Sturridge is similar to Luis in as much as he’s always looking to score, always trying to force a mistake from the opponent and take advantage of any weakness,' he says of the scorer of England’s goal against Italy on Saturday.

In action: Daniel Sturridge impressed up front against Italy in England's 2-1 opening loss

Fighting fit? Luis Suarez missed Uruguay's opening game, but is ready for the England clash

Coates will be on hand to inform Uruguayan first choice centre-backs Diego Godin and Diego Lugano, although after seeing how Arsenal loanee Joel Campbell destroyed the Uruguay defence, many supporters want Coates drafted in ahead of the defender West Brom let go last month.

Coates is also well aware of the other threats carried by England. 'Sterling is extremely quick, always looking to get past people and deliver the ball into the box,' he says. 'And [Steven] Gerrard has so much intelligence and quality in that midfield role; we are very aware of how good he is from dead balls, he strikes it so well.'

Of course for all that England have Sterling and Sturridge, Uruguay have the real jewel in the Liverpool crown. 'Everyone knows what Luis is like,' says Coates. 'He never gives up on a single loose ball; he chases everything. It doesn’t matter if the team is winning or losing, he always wants more. He is one of the three best players in the world.'

Uruguay will need all of Suarez’ quality and determination to turn their World Cup around. Coates says his spirit illustrates perfectly why they have over-achieved so often on the world stage and why they are not about to give up their place at the World Cup lightly. 

Team-mates: Sebastian Coates (centre) shares a joke with Suarez during Uruguay training

Through his paces: Coates (in red) attempts to block a shot from Cristian Rodriguez in training

'In Brazil I think there are three million players officially signed up with clubs, and in Uruguay there are only three million people so that puts the size of our country into perspective. But we are passionate about the game; everyone plays from a very young age, and we have the guts and determination that you see reflected in the way Luis plays. He’s the perfect example of how never to give anything up for lost.'

Coates showed the same fighting spirit last season to come back from the torn cruciate ligament injury he suffered in August and then ask for a loan move to Nacional that would give him a fighting chance of making Oscar Tabarez’ World Cup squad.

He had just been voted Best Young Player of the Copa America which Uruguay won in 2011 when Liverpool signed him that summer. Suarez was in constant contact as the deal went through informing him of Liverpool’s interest and joking that he would ‘represent’ him in England. He helped him settle, but the injury while playing for Uruguay in Japan set back his progress.

World stage: Sturridge hits home England's equaliser at the time in Saturday's clash against Italy

Coates' performances at Nacional were enough to convince  Tabarez that he was ready for Brazil. And back home in Uruguay he was able to witness first hand just how Suarez has turned the country into the South American branch of the Liverpool’s supporters club.

'Everyone has been watching every game for the last few months' he says. 'Liverpool may have more fans here in Uruguay than anywhere else. No one wanted the season to end as it did. When you’re so close and it slips away from you like that it is so hard.'

He texted ‘animo’ a kind of Spanish ‘chin-up’ to a distraught Suarez after the Crystal Palace game. 'What more can you do in that situation?' he says.

Frozen out? Coates has found it hard to cement a first team place at Anfield

He hopes there will be no need for similar messages of support after the Group D game tomorrow night.  And when the tournament ends he wants to return to Liverpool and establish himself as a Premier League starter alongside Suarez or even at another Premier League club if a loan spell becomes the only way of showing the class that made a South American champion three years ago.

It would be a shame if he didn’t make it in England; with a name like Coates he has to have British roots after all?

'The family came from Scotland three or four generations back,' he says. 'And the first one who came to Uruguay, the first Coates, came by boat… from Liverpool of course.'