Uruguay Beat South Korea 2-1 Uruguay to face Ghana in Quarterfinals FIFA World Cup 2010
The dream finally ended for South Korea, as Uruguay beat them 2-1 in the round of 16 in FIFA World Cup 2010. For neutrals, there were mixed emotions, as there was obvious joy on seeing the flamboyant Uruguay become the first team to make it to the quarterfinals, but there was great amount of sympathy for the hard working South Korean team, who were the first Asian team to make it to the final 16 of the World Cup for a 2nd time.
Although South Korea ended up on the losing side, on the pitch there was enough to prove that the Asians deserved to be where they are. Uruguay dominated the early part of the first half, which was followed by a period of domination by South Korea. But it was a goalkeeping error that led to the first goal: the Korean keeper, while trying to collect a cross, came halfway and could not collect the ball. Suarez was left with the easiest of opportunities of tapping the ball home into an empty net. South Korea, after a brief period of shock, recovered well to hit back at the South Americans. In the later part of the first half, there were numerous moves from South Korea which tested the resolve of the Uruguayan keeper, who had to make at least 3-4 good saves to keep the lead.
Both teams went off the pitch after the first half knowing there was still a lot to play for. South Korea came out with some wise words from their manager it seemed; they continued to dominate the possession and started carving out chance after chance.
Lee Young-Pyo made a brilliant run down the left from South Korea, but Park Chu-Young could not get to the cross as Jorge Fucile was quick to catch the ball.
Moments later, there was another fabulous chance. A cross was pumped into the Uruguay box; Diego Lugano headed it away but it fell perfectly for Park Chu-Yong, but he could not complete the volley from 12 yards.
The constant Korean pressure, though, eventually paid off, as a free-kick was floated into the Uruguay box, and headed up in the air by Mauricio Victorino, but fell for Bolton's Lee Chung-Yong who got there before Fernando Muslera to head home the equaliser, as Jorge Fucile failed to clear it off the line.
It was only fair that after countless attacks, South Korea finally made their way back in the game, and it did not end there for them. Led by Park Ji Sung, the Asian side continued to make moves from the wing. There was immense confidence all of a sudden, as full backs started to burst forward to aid wingers by overlapping at the flank.
With just 10 minutes left on the clock, it was once again Suarez who produced a goal which is surely a strong contender for the goal of the tournament, not just for its beauty but for the sheer importance of it.
Following a corner, Lodeiro latched on to the ball and laid it back to Suarez, who used some nifty footwork inside the box to fox two defenders and found a couple of yards to take the shot, curling the ball with his right foot. The ball hit the far left post and went in, for what turned out to be the winner, sending the whole Uruguayan squad into ecstasy as they all jumped on Suarez to celebrate.
Korea did have number of attempts in the last minutes, but Uruguay, after conceding their first goal of the World Cup, were not in a mood to let in any more.
The game ended 2-1, and Uruguay now face Ghana in the quarterfinal, who beat USA 2 goals to 1.
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