Uruguay Destroys Ghana’s World Cup Hopes
Following Friday’s 2-0 loss to Uruguay in Group H action, Ghana’s hopes of advancing to the tournament’s round of 16 were crushed.
South Korea’s 1-2 victory over Portugal in the other Group H match meant that Uruguay did not advance to the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup.
Luis Suarez could not bear to see his Uruguayan squad crash out of the World Cup. He covered his eyes with his hands and buttoned his shirt up to his neck. Tears were visible on his face when he finally emerged from the cave.
The Uruguayan skipper watched from the dugout as his team defeated Ghana 2-0 on Friday, only to be eliminated from the tournament due to a goal scored in stoppage time by another club.
South Korea’s late goal against Portugal sealed a 2-1 victory and a spot in the round of 16 for the Asian nation, advancing it at the expense of Uruguay in Group H on the strength of its superior goal differential. As a result of the group stage’s most exciting finish, Portugal qualified as the group’s top team and South Korea finished in second.
Ghana, who had been in second position going into the last round of games, was also eliminated.
A sad and disappointed group of people,” Suarez, who was playing in his final World Cup, remarked. I played in my fourth World Cup and was thinking about my 4-year-old son, who is going with a horrible image in his mind. It’s not easy, but I have to deal with this on my own.
When Suarez was substituted in the 66th minute, Uruguay had a chance to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive tournament. After Ghana’s captain, Andre Ayew, missed a penalty in the 21st minute, Giorgian De Arrascaeta scored twice for Uruguay.
In the 26th minute, De Arrascaeta scored the game-winning goal after a shot by Suarez. De Arrascaeta scored the second goal six minutes later with a volley from a cross by Suarez.
While Uruguay maintained their 2-0 lead at the final whistle, Suarez’s World Cup career came to an end at age 35.
The news of South Korea’s late goal against Portugal flashed on a screen inside the stadium, and Suarez realized that it could be heading that way. Suarez had been grinning in the dugout earlier.
Even in the final eight minutes of play, Uruguay was still trying desperately to score. With just one goal, they would have won on the scoreboard.
Substitute In the dying seconds, Maximiliano Gomez took a shot that Ghanaian goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi stopped by diving to his right. Sebatian Coates’s attempt went barely wide. Two late penalty kick appeals by Uruguay were also denied. After the game, while they were being led off the field, some Uruguayan players argued with the referee.
They were so overworked that their backs gave out. “They played their hearts out,” Uruguay’s head coach Diego Alonso stated.
After one of the most controversial games in World Cup history, Ghana fans at Al Janoub Stadium yelled “Korea, Korea, Korea” and celebrated Uruguay’s exit by rooting for South Korea’s national team.
Twelve years ago, Suarez was to blame for Ghana’s early exit from the World Cup. Then, in the last seconds of overtime, his intentional handball on the goal line prevented Ghana from scoring.
Though Suarez was dismissed from the game, he loudly cheered on the sidelines after Ghana star Asamoah Gyan missed the ensuing penalty. A penalty shootout ended in favor of Uruguay.
Suarez’s failure to apologize for his handball when requested to do so by a Ghanaian journalist on the eve of the game in Qatar added fuel to the fire, as the journalist said that the player was now known as “el diablo” — a demon — in Ghana.
The Ghanaian team’s coach, Otto Addo, claimed that they were not out for payback from 2010.
Addo lamented, “What hurts the most is we are out.” Whoever it was, it makes no difference.
However, the bulk of the Ghanaian crowd did not share this opinion and instead booed Suarez at every opportunity. Before the game started, one fan held up a sign that read, “Revenge 4 2010.”
At the game’s conclusion, as Suarez cried his way off the field, the same banner was raised once more.
PAIN IN GHANA
In addition to the agony of Ghana’s elimination, Ayew’s missed penalty brought back the misery of 2010. Only Ayew, who was suspended for the quarterfinal match, remains from Ghana’s current roster.
His penalty kick was aimed low and right, but Uruguayan goalkeeper Sergio Rochet made a great save with his left hand.
Addo remarked, “This is football.” I’ve got to say, there are some breathtaking moments in football. Occasionally, it takes on an unpleasant appearance. Today was a bad day for us.
ADDO DECLINES
After promising he would only coach Ghana through the World Cup, Addo has announced that he will be stepping down as coach.
BOTH GOING HOME
For the first time since failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2006, Uruguay failed to advance to the tournament’s round of 16. Although they have won four consecutive African titles, Ghana has been eliminated in the group stage at the last two World Cups they have participated in.
