Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera has hailed the unity of the squad ahead of their World Cup opener against Costa Rica.

The Uruguayans face Costa Rica in Fortaleza tonight before taking on England and Italy in Group D.

Muslera hopes that the spirit among the players can help their country win the tournament for the third time following previous triumphs in 1930 and 1950.

"We have a sensational group," he told FIFA's official website. "I've never experienced such a united group. We are all friends, we all have the same objective, we all row in the same direction. We have already won a World Cup in this country and we hope we can do that again."

Muslera has won 58 caps for Uruguay since he made his debut five years ago.