Saturday, 21 June 2014 00:00
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SAO PAULO (Reuters): Uruguay’s lethal striker Luis Suarez scored twice including a dramatic late winner to earn a 2-1 victory over England in a pulsating World Cup Group D match on Thursday.
Suarez took advantage of slack defending to fire the ball past England keeper Joe Hart five minutes from time having been restored to the lineup after recovering from knee surgery.
He had given Uruguay the lead by nodding in Edinson Cavani’s cross after 39 minutes before Wayne Rooney equalized in the second half with his first ever World Cup goal.
The result meant Uruguay joined Italy and Costa Rica on three points and left England at the bottom of the group after two straight losses. Italy play Costa Rica on Friday.
It was Uruguay’s first win over European opposition at a World Cup since they beat the Soviet Union in the 1970 quarter-finals.
“I dreamed about this,” said a sobbing Suarez. “I am enjoying this moment for all the criticisms that I had to take.”
Suarez scored 31 goals in 33 games for Liverpool in the Premier League last season, and was named Player of the Year, but remains a highly controversial figure in England.
He received a 10-match ban at the end of the 2012/13 season for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and was banned for eight games and fined 40,000 pounds ($68,000) for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra in December 2011.
Love him or hate him, there can be no denying Suarez is one of the most lethal finishers in football.
While England huffed and puffed around the box, clinical Suarez put away his only two clear chances.
“I thought defensively we held up well against him for long periods,” said devastated England manager Roy Hodgson. “But two chances came his way and he took them well.
“The second goal was a defensive mistake on our part. We came here with great hopes but were unable to deliver. It’s a major, major sadness for me,” said Hodgson, who described England’s chances of advancing as “unbelievably slim”.
