World Cup 2010: Uruguay Vs South Korea - Uruguay Reach Quarter Finals for the First Time in 20 years
The first game of the knock out round of the World Cup kicks off with the South Koreans playing Uruguay. Uruguay topped their group which included France and the World Cup hosts South Africa, whereas South Korea were second in their group behind Argentina. The winner of this match will come up against either the U.S.A or Ghana in the quarter Finals.
The game kicked off at a fast pace with both sides looking to secure an early goal to establish themselves in the match. Uruguay, with their attacking line-up of Diego Forlan, Suarez and Cavani, looked more likely to open the scoring in the initial stages. It only took 8 minutes for the first goal of the game, as Suarez capitalized on a defensive mistake by the South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong, who came out to collect Forlan's cross but failed to do so and that left Suarez an empty goal to shoot into. It was a tight angle though, and Suarez deserved credit for being in the right place at the right time.
Uruguay qualified for this round without having conceded a single goal in the group stages, which is something very unusual about this team because traditionally the Uruguay teams have always been more focused on scoring than not conceding goals. This, however, means that they are well positioned to book their place in the quarter finals after having taken the lead.
A controversial decision by the linesman in the 27th minute denied Uruguay what could have been a decisive goal. Suarez appeared to be on side, as the South Korean defender was dispossessed around the half way line but the linesman had his flag up and so the referee stopped the play for offside. Replays, though, showed that Suarez was in line with the South Korean defender and was wrongly declared offside.
The Uruguayans successfully managed to slow down the pace of the game, as the half wore on. They kept possession, showing little or no attacking intent and inviting the Koreans to attack them. Park Ji-Sung, the South Korean Captain, tried his best to inspire his team but with the Uruguayans defending resolutely, the South Koreans could not get an equalizer.
The first booking of the game came in the 38th minute when Kim Jung-Woo was booked for a tackle on Edinson Cavani. He had his studs very high and so the referee rightly dished out the first yellow card of the game to the South Korean. In the 41st minute a claim for handball was turned down by the referee, as Pereira's volley hit the arm of Ki Sung-Yong. The referee decided to ignore the appeals but a penalty could easily have been awarded there.
At half time, the score was 1-0 to the Uruguayans, who looked great value for their lead. The Koreans have tried their best to score but it looks like it's only a matter of time before Uruguay grab their second goal of the game and book their place into the next round.
There was only one change at half time as Marucio Victorino came on for Godin. The rain had started to come down very heavily at this point, which suited the slick passing football of the South Americans but they were happy to stay back and soak in the pressure from the South Koreans, who found it very difficult to break down their opponents.
Park Chu-Yong wasted a good opportunity in the 51st minute as Lugaono's clearing header fell to him but he could not keep his shot on target from close range and the scored stayed 1-0 to the Uruguayans. An excellent save from Muslera, stopped Park Ji-Sung from scoring after good work from Cha Du-Ri to swing in a cross which was diverted towards the goal by Park but a full length dive prevented the ball from nestling in the back of the net.
The South Koreans made their first change of the game in the 61st minute, as Lee Dong- g**k replaced Kim Jae-Sung. A positive change by the South Korean Head Coach, as he looked to freshen things up in order to get the all crucial goal.
A penalty appeal in the 64th minute was turned down by the referee. Ki Sung-Yong appeared to be clipped by Cavani but the contact was very minimal and the referee, rightly, waved for the play to continue and told the Korean player to get on with the game.
The Korean’s pressure finally paid off in the 69th minute as Lee Chung-Yong bundled the ball into the empty net after the Goalkeeper made an unsuccessful attempt to catch an attempted clearance from Victonino. The goal had been coming for a while with the Uruguayans inviting pressure and it was well deserved. Neither of the team wanted the match to go to extra time, or penalties, and so the pace of the game picked up once more, as Uruguay tried to regain the lead while the South Koreans wanted to use the momentum to turn the tie around.
Suarez wasted a very good chance to put his team ahead once more, but his header in the 74th minute went wide of the goal, to the relief of the South Koreans.
The game took another twist in the 81st minute when, who else but, Suarez put Uruguay ahead for the second time; an excellent finish from the striker, who has been in impressive form throughout this World Cup. After collecting the ball from a knock down, he cut inside and curled a magnificent shot which went into the goal off the post. The goal sparked wild celebrations on the Uruguay bench, as well as on the pitch as it effectively booked their team's place into the Quarter finals.
Lee Dong-g**k almost equalized for the Koreans, as he managed to beat the offside trap and had a clear shot on goal. His shot came agonizingly close to crossing the goal-line but it was not to be, as the South Koreans crashed out of the World Cup and Uruguay reached the Quarter Finals for the first time in 20 years.
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