World Cup: Uruguay 1(4)-(2)1 Ghana – Luis Suarez Sacrifice Leads to Uruguay vs Netherlands Semifinal
Ghana were eliminated today by Uruguay in a quarterfinal match that will be remembered not so much the quality of football but the dramatic scenes that led up to the South Americans booking a place in the semifinals against the Netherlands.
After normal time failed to produce a winner, the game headed to extra time. Both teams were looking to settle the match before it reached extra time and it appeared that it would be Ghana who would make it to the finals when they were awarded a penalty in the last minute of extra time. Luis Suarez, whose name will be written down in Uruguayan folklore as a self-sacrificing hero, used his hand to stop the ball from going into the goal from the line. With the keeper helpless, had Suarez not intervened, the goal would surely have eliminated the South Americans.
As it happened though, Suarez stopped the goal. He was sent off for his actions, and rightly so. A penalty kick was awarded to Ghana and Gyan stepped up to take it. A goal here would have sent Ghana through but it was not to be. Gyan's shot hit the crossbar and the referee blew his whistle, signalling for penalties.
The Uruguayans had come back from certain defeat and so most people would have backed them to take the match from there. Both teams scored from their first two penalties without any problems. Uruguay scored their third but Ghana missed. This meant that if Maxi Pereira scored, he would make it 4-2 to the Uruguayans, which would have almost guaranteed them the win. He missed, though, but luckily for the Uruguayans, the next Ghanaian penalty taker missed as well.
In the end it was up to Sebastian Abreu to decide the match and he did so in style, with possibly the most important penalty of his career. He chose to chip to ball in a fashion not dissimilar to Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final. The Ghanaian goalkeeper dived to his right and so had no chance to save the penalty. Uruguay went through to the next round while the Africans were left to reflect on what could have been.
Earlier in the match, Muntari had given the Ghanaians the lead in the injury time of the first half. The Uruguayans responded through Diego Forlan in the 54th minute, with a stunning goal from 25 yards which dipped over the helpless Kingston.
Uruguay now play Netherlands in what will be a very interesting game of contrasting styles of play. The Netherlands will be favourites for that game, after defeating the 5 times World Champions Brazil, but nevertheless, Uruguay can not be underestimated after consistently performing at a high level throughout this tournament. They will, however, be without their highest goal-scorer Suarez, who will be suspended for that game. More responsibility will have to be shouldered by Diego Forlan, who has been excellent in the tournament so far and was probably Uruguay's man of the match.
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