Four years ago Uruguay stunned the world with a dazzling display in the World Cup. The South American side won Group A and then went on a deep run past South Korea and Ghana before succumbing to the Netherlands in the semifinals. Despite falling to Germany in the third place match, the nation's top player Diego Forlan was given the Golden Ball as the team MVP. Now Uruguay will look to take a step further and win its first World Cup since 1950. And there are many reasons to believe that they can make it happen.

1. Luis Suarez

If you were to ask most soccer players who the best player in the world is at this very moment you would undoubtedly hear Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. But then some would tell you that Luis Suarez is arguably in better form than either player and they would not be far off. Suarez is coming off a stellar year in which he scored 31 goals in 37 games for Liverpool. He is fast, deadly and physical, making him a rather complete forward.

Four years ago, Suarez made a controversial play against Ghana that drew the ire of an entire continent. He may have left that tournament as a goat of sorts but he is the form of his life and could easily emerge as the hero.

2. Supporting Cast of Superstars

As Lionel Messi can attest to in Argentina, it is a lot easier to make the most of this World Cup opportunity when you are flanked by other world class players. Suarez is in the same boat here. His strike partner will be Edinson Cavani, who put up a stellar performance in the Confederations Cup a year ago. Cavani struggled with his new club Paris Saint-Germain, but part of the problem was the fact that he was often out of position and had to cater to strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Cavani seems to shine for his national side and there is no reason to doubt his putting up a stellar performance.

Aside from Cavani, Uruguay has Forlan who can still make a contribution. He was solid in the Confederations Cup last year and the trio of Forlan, Suarez and Cavani made this team as deadly as can be when they were on the pitch together. Not to be overlooked is a solid group of midfielders than include Christian Rodriguez, Nicholas Lodeiro and Walter Gargano among others.

3. Solid defense

One of the Achilles Heels of most South American teams is the lack of a steady defense. This problem especially plagues Colombia, Chile and Argentina. Fortunately Uruguay's backline is rather solid in comparison. Diego Godin is coming off a terrific season with his club Atletico Madrid and provides the team with a solid foundation alongside Diego Lugano. Maxi Pereira and Martin Caceres will also be important to the side's defensive structure while starting goalie Fernando Muslera has shown himself more than capable of stealing games left and right for his club.

4. Continental Advantage

Europe has never won a World Cup in South America. In fact, only one European nation has managed to win the tournament outside of its own continent. That bit of history took place four years ago when Spain accomplished the feat. Can it happen during two successive tournaments? Highly unlikely. That favors South American teams tremendously. Brazil is obviously the team most people look to while Argentina is another that has a chance at making history as well. But Uruguay is the third of the batch and arguably the one best poised to win its third Championship. After all, Uruguay is the reigning South American champion courtesy of a Copa America win in 2011. The team also made the deepest run a South American team has made at the World Cup since Brazil won it all in 2002. And most importantly, Uruguay won the World Cup in Brazil back in 1950 in the fateful Maracanazo. You can bet that this group of players will be motivated to make history once again. And they certainly have a team more than capable of doing it.