FIFA World Cup 2010 Diary: Uruguay Go Down Fighting

FIFA World Cup Update on iSport: Uruguay went down fighting hard against a charged up Netherlands. iSporter Akshay Iyer gives us a match report.

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Uruguay came in to the semi-finals against the Netherlands as massive underdogs, and to their credit though they finished on the losing side, Oscar Tabarez’s team showed a lot of heart and courage in Cape Town on Tuesday night.

Four South American countries made it to the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup – Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay – but only the first mentioned country made it to the semi-finals defeating Ghana in one of the most controversial matches of the tournament. This was also the first time since 1970 that Uruguay had reached this stage of a World Cup. Not a bad achievement for a team that qualified for the 2010 World Cup only by winning a playoff match against Costa Rica.

In the semi-finals, Tabarez had to do without skipper Diego Lugano, who picked up a knee injury in the match against Ghana. To make matters worse for Tabarez, two of his most influential players – Luis Suarez and Jorge Fucile – were suspended for this all-important match. While Suarez was at the centre of the controversy against Ghana for handling the ball on the goal-line in the dying moments of extra time; full-back Fucile was unavailable for the match as he picked up his second booking of the tournament in the same match. Suarez had scored three goals and assisted in two other goals in Uruguay’s campaign until he was sent off.

In Fucile’s absence, Tabarez included Martin Caceres and Diego Godin in his revamped defence, while he paired stand-in captain Diego Forlan up front with Edinson Cavani. The Netherlands were far the more confident team in the early parts of the match and dominated possession even as Uruguay was forced into taking a defensive approach. The Uruguayan defence looked all at sea against determined Dutch play, while their forwards including the talismanic Forlan were hardly able to get a touch on the ball or make any meaningful runs in to the Netherlands’ defence.

The pressure finally paid off for the Netherlands in the 18th minute when captain Giovanni Van Bronckhorst unleashed a fiery left-footed long range drive to give his team the lead. The Dutch continued to impose themselves on the match even as the Uruguayans tried their best to get back on level terms, but the Netherlands’ defence was just too strong for Forlan and his men. However, against the run of play, Forlan hit his own long-range drive in the 41st minute which didn’t make Dutch goalie Maarten Stekelenburg look good, as Uruguay went into the lemon break on level terms.

Inspired by Forlan’s goal, Uruguay started the second half more purposefully and launched a couple of attacks on the Dutch defence, even as their defenders were doing their bid to thwart any forward moves by the Netherlands’ attacking midfielders Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben. Dutch striker Robin Van Persie had a decent match, but will need to be sharper in the final against Spain or Germany. But, just when it looked the match was headed towards extra time, a stroke of luck in the 70th minute gave Sneijder his fifth goal of the tournament and Netherlands a 2-1 lead. The win was all but sealed three minutes later when Dirk Kuyt’s cross was powerfully headed in by Robben.

Forlan and the rest of the Uruguayan team then did their best to get back in to the match, but the staunch Dutch defence repelled all attacks. And, when Tabarez substituted Forlan in the 84th minute, it appeared Uruguay was resigned to a loss. But, the Uruguayans refused to throw in the towel and kept mounting attacks on the Dutch goal, and the pressure paid off in the 92nd minute when Maxi Pereira scored from the edge of the area. Even as the Uzbek referee kept adding time to the additional 3 minutes of stoppage time, the Uruguayan players kept up their attack but the Dutch defence did well to ensure there wouldn’t be any last-minute drama. The Netherlands held on to win 3-2 and reach their first World Cup final since 1978.

Before the start of the tournament, even the staunchest Uruguayan supporter wouldn’t have bet on the team performing so well in South Africa. While the players, coaching and support staff as well as the Uruguayan public would be disappointed at coming so close and not making the final; the performance of the team will prove to be a shot for football in Uruguay. And, there is still the third place match on Saturday for Uruguay to play and leave South Africa on a high.