SAO PAULO — It was L.Suarez’s
day. We should have known it
would be.
Just when his team needed him,
the star striker delivered. Uruguay
is back in with a great chance of
qualifying for the last 16 of the
World Cup thanks to a 2-1 win over
England inspired by the man Oscar
Tabarez admitted pre-match was
key to their hopes regardless of
how fit he was.
He hadn’t played a game in 39
days thanks to a knee injury, but it
certainly didn’t show. He was
sharper and hungrier than anyone
else on the field. He was the
match winner and deservedly so.
The pre-match talk focused around
Suarez and Wayne Rooney, and
both talismen were roundly booed
by the opposing fans when their
names were read out. The pair’s
afternoons were incomparable from
that point on.
Suarez had the first attempt on
goal, forcing Joe Hart to scramble
across to stop his left-wing corner
finding the net, but moments later
it was Rooney causing trouble with
a free kick which curled narrowly
wide of the right-hand post.
The Manchester United man
missed an even better chance from
a Steven Gerrard free kick, rising at
the back post but seeing his
header come back off the woodwork
when it had seemed easier to
score. Suarez made him pay within
minutes.
Uruguay’s first goal was brilliant in
its simplicity. Edinson Cavani
found space on the left edge of the
area before delaying his cross just
long enough to escape the
attentions of the ponderous Glen
Johnson and Jordan Henderson.
Suarez timed his run brilliantly to
dart in behind Phil Jagielka and
rise at the back post to meet the
center, sending the ball back past
Hart. The whole ground was
immediately struck by a feeling of
inevitability. It simply had to be
him.
The South Americans dominated
the early exchanges of the second
half as they looked for a killer
second, but first Suarez and then
Cavani both screwed the ball wide
from great positions.
England hit back with a gilt-edged
chance of its own, but when
Rooney fought off teammate
Raheem Sterling to get a left-foot
shot on goal, Fernando Muslera
parried well and the feeling that it
was Uruguay’s day grew stronger.
Even when Rooney snatched his
first World Cup goal from a Glen
Johnson cross to level the scores,
there was an underlying feeling
that more was to come.
And it came in the 85th minute,
when Suarez reacted quickest to a
Steven Gerrard flick-on over the
England backline, leaving Jagielka
flat-footed and striking high past
Hart.
It was a beautiful finish to a
wonderful day for Suarez and for
Uruguay.
They still have a lot to do, with the
defeat to Costa Rica meaning they
remain behind the eight-ball, but
Italy needs to beware on Tuesday
in Natal.
Luis Suarez is back, and he’s ready
to play a big role in this World
Cup.
