Uruguay’s elimination from the World Cup made Luis Suarez emotional. After calming down for a while, the star striker had a hard time with the Fifa official.
2.12. 19:50•Updated 2.12. 20:08
The previous meeting between Uruguay and Ghana in the 2010 FIFA World Cup is one of the most famous matches in the history of the sport. Now the countries met again at the World Cup, and of Luis Suarez the name is again on everyone’s lips.
Uruguay stayed on the beach from the next games in the strictest possible way. South Korea surprised Portugal 2–1, and while Uruguay beat Ghana by just two goals, South Korea advanced on goals scored.
Luis Suarez was substituted in the match in the 66th minute, and even then everything looked good. When the house of cards collapsed and South Korea scored the lead goal, Suarez was picked up by the TV cameras. He nervously bit his shirt and left after the final whistle to the dressing room, crying inconsolably.
TV pictures show that Suarez did not spend long in the shelter of the dressing room, as he returned to the side of the field and spoke firmly to the Fifa official. Except for one sentence, you can’t really understand Suarez’s speech in the video material. Even one sentence is enough to understand the nature of the conversation.
– I know Fifa. Every time I play for Uruguay. I know, Suarez tells the clerk in English with a stern look on his face.
Suarez must be disappointed, at least in extra time, with the situation that shook the Uruguayan players. Edinson Cavani fell in the penalty area, but the German referee Daniel Siebert didn’t whistle a penalty kick.
After the final whistle, a group of Uruguay players raged at Siebert, who tried to get into the locker room.
South Korea’s winging on by Hwang Hee-Chan the goal came in extra time. Uruguay had about a quarter of an hour left to get the goal they needed, but the team didn’t get very close.
Sports expert Jonne Kunnas marveled at Uruguay’s passivity in the second period. It was known all along that South Korea’s goal could turn the situation upside down, and it did.
The situation was not made easier by the fact that Uruguay’s star strikers Suarez and Darwin Nunez had already been replaced earlier.
– The change from the mentality of protecting one’s own goal and risk-free attacking play is really difficult. Tactical changes to attack are difficult, especially when the biggest goalscoring threats are already off the field.
The tournament in Uruguay was a big disappointment for Kunnas as a whole. The first period of the Ghana match was the two-time world champion’s best performance of the Games.
– It was ineffective. It was too random how Uruguay created scoring opportunities. The first period was Uruguay’s best, so in that sense too, there would have been no reason to become passive and just start thinking about keeping this one. They should have just continued in the same way, because facilities started to appear, Kunnas stated.
Despite Friday’s loss, Group H was won by Portugal ahead of South Korea. The countries’ opponents for the quarterfinals will be determined later on Friday, when the G group is played to a conclusion.