Uruguay edge past Ghana

Abreu nets winning penalty to set up Holland clash

By James Pearson   Last updated: 3rd July 2010  

Uruguay edge past Ghana

Abreu: Match-winning penalty

Man of Match: Diego Forlan. Netted a great free-kick to drag his side back into the game and also scored the first penalty in the shoot-out.
Goal of game: Forlan's swerving free-kick sent the keeper the wrong way and was a fantastic strike.
Attempt of the match: Luis Suarez rolled his marker before shooting at goal from 16 yards in the first period but Richard Kingson was able to save for a corner.
Save of the match: Kingson saved at point-blank range with his head to prevent a John Pantsil own goal in the first period.
Moment of the match: Asamoah Gyan's last-gasp penalty hit the crossbar when he could have won it for Ghana with the last kick of the game.
Talking point: Suarez's handball on the line at the death which ultimately saved his team.

Uruguay have booked their place in the semi-finals of the World Cup following a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out success over Ghana.

Sebastian Abreu scored the match-winning penalty with a cheeky chip to capitalise on misses from John Mensah and young substitute Dominic Adiyiah after the score finished 1-1 after extra-time.

Sulley Muntari opened the scoring with a superb long-range effort, although Diego Forlan's fine second-half free-kick levelled matters to ensure the game went into extra-time.

Ghana should have settled the contest with the last kick of the game but Asamoah Gyan missed the chance to become the hero of a nation when his powerful penalty struck the crossbar.

Adiyiah's goal-bound header looked certain to win the match in the last minute of extra-time but Luis Suarez handled on the line to concede a penalty resulting in a straight red card, an act that he will feel was justified as Uruguay won in the shoot-out following Gyan's crucial miss.

Uruguay were positive from the opening whistle with both Diego Forlan and Suarez lively for the South Americans.

Forlan played in Alvaro Fernandez with four minutes on the clock, but a poor first touch was followed by an over-hit cross into Ghana's penalty area.

Uruguay continued to press and keeper Richard Kingson needed to be well-placed at his near post to deny Suarez after he cleverly got the better of Mensah.

Ghana struggled to find their rhythm and another point-blank save from Kingson kept Uruguay out after Edinson Cavani connected with Forlan's corner.

It continued to be one-way traffic on 26 minutes when Suarez got the better of Isaac Vorsah from a quickly-taken free-kick only for Kingson to superbly tip over the Ajax man's fierce effort.

Change of momentum

However, the half-hour mark signified a change of momentum with Ghana creating their first chance of the game and, in truth, they should have taken the lead.

Vorsah charged forward for a corner and sent a powerful back-post header just wide of Fernando Muslera's goal from Muntari's teasing inswinging corner.

Ghana were beginning to find belief and for the first time in the game Uruguay were feeling the heat after a quick break resulted in Gyan sending a first-time effort just wide of Muslera's near post.

Uruguay were forced into a change on 38 minutes when captain Diego Lugano, who sustained a knee injury earlier in the game, could no longer carry on and he was replaced by Andres Scotti.

Ghana finished the half in the ascendancy and their pressure finally told in injury-time when Muntari's speculative long-range effort caught Muslera wrong-footed to give the African nation a surprise lead.

Uruguay head coach Oscar Tabarez made his second change of the match during half-time as he looked to re-shape his troops with Nicolas Lodeiro replacing Fernandez.

The South Americans thought they might have won a penalty minutes into the second half, but Portuguese referee Olegario Benquerenca waved away Cavani's appeals after he was caught by Vorsah.

Although Ghana had carried the momentum secured from Muntari's opener in the second half that was swiftly wiped out courtesy of Forlan's equaliser.

Moments after John Pantsil was booked for flooring Jorge Fucile, Forlan made Ghana pay from the resulting free-kick by firing a well-struck effort over the out-of-position Kingson.

Ghana tried to respond in kind but Muslera was well placed to save Gyan's drilled effort and Uruguay managed to scramble the ball clear for a corner with Muntari looking to pounce on the rebound.

Unrelenting

The pace of the game was unrelenting and Uruguay were a whisker away from getting their noses in front just after the hour mark when Suarez lashed a volley just wide from Forlan's brilliant corner.

Uruguay continued to create the better chances and only a smart save from Kingson kept out Suarez's drive after he was played in by a neat one-touch pass from substitute Lodeiro.

It was not all one-way traffic however and following a poor clearance from Mauricio Victorino the ball was presented to Gyan, but Muslera was back on his line quickly to save the striker's first-time shot.

However, it was Kingson who continued to be the busier keeper and he was forced to push Suarez's stooping header wide for a corner from Forlan's cross on 78 minutes as Uruguay pressed for a winner before the end of normal time.

There was little to speak of in terms of chances in the first half of extra-time with only Kwadwo Asamoah's wild attempt and Scotti's last-ditch tackle on Gyan the highlights of the 15-minute spell.

However, Uruguay felt they should have been awarded a penalty following Pantsil's sly foul on substitute Abreu, although, once again, Benquerenca was having none of their appeals.

Chances were few and far between in the closing 15 minutes of the game. Forlan had half a sight of goal with a left-footed shot from out wide, but he opted for the ambitious shot from the angle rather than picking out a team-mate.

Ghana very nearly won it in extra-time when Boateng's deflected cross was somehow pushed away from his near post by Muslera.

Ghana did have the perfect chance to claim the victory before the shoot-out when Suarez handled Adiyiah's goal-bound effort on the line, actions that saw him red-carded, but Gyan's penalty struck the crossbar.

Uruguay held their nerve in the shoot-out with Abreu slotting home the South Americans' last penalty to set up a clash with Holland, who upset Brazil earlier on Friday, in the semi-finals of the World Cup in South Africa.

UruguayTeam StatisticsGhana
1Goals1
01st Half Goals1
7Shots on Target3
7Shots off Target15
1Blocked Shots6
12Corners8
23Fouls23
6Offsides1
3Yellow Cards3
1Red Cards0
66.9Passing Success74
31Tackles26
74.2Tackles Success73.1
43.2Possession56.8
46.2Territorial Advantage53.8

Comments (40)

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Manuel Perez (Manchester United fan) says...

What are all you crying about? Any player would have put their hands up in desperation to stop the goal, just like he did. He paid the price. As the rules stand he received the just punishment. Period. Whether the Ghanaians didn't take advantage of the situation is another matter. Uruguay went through because they were determined and they never gave up. Luck dealt them a nice hand too. (pun intended) they deserve to be in the semis.

Posted 11:01 3rd July 2010

Ed Thompson (Liverpool fan) says...

I have no allegiance to either team. In fact I would have probably liked to see Uruguay go through. However... this incident has left a very sour taste in my mouth. Suarez knew what he was doing and he should be dealt with by FIFA imposing a 3-6 month ban from the sport. Secondly in incidents such as this instead of awarding a penalty with a chance the team may miss introduce a penalty goal along the same lines as a penalty try in rugby. WOuld Suarex have handled it then???? Football is my favourite sport but it should hang its head in shame today.

Posted 09:35 3rd July 2010

Dan Jones (Manchester United fan) says...

Suarez may have handled the ball on the line but I think most people are forgetting that the free kick that led to the incident wasn't a foul in the first place so Uruguay should never have been in that position. I feel sorry for Ghana, who for me, were marginally the better side, but penalties are cruel. I'm an Englishman so my sympathies go out to everyone that has to endure the cruelty of the shoot out. Great performance from Ghana and hopefully we will see them back in 4 years time.

Posted 09:01 3rd July 2010

Joe Singer (Manchester United fan) says...

This is made worse by the fact that Suarez is a known cheat, he play acts and dives constantly and when he finally gets what you think is justice, the penalty is missed. Such a shame

Posted 09:00 3rd July 2010

Colin Murphy (Leeds United fan) says...

Why has nobody mentioned that there was at least one Ghanaian player offside in the melee that led up to the penalty. The linesman should have flagged well before the shot saved beautifully by suarez came in. In addition Uruguay should have had a penalty prior to that. Ghana should not feel hard done by. Had they gone through Uruguay could rightly have felt they were seriously wronged.

Posted 08:48 3rd July 2010

Geoffrey Chiwaya (Liverpool fan) says...

i feel for Ghana and Gyan i was so sure that they will win...4 years is along time to wait..

Posted 08:47 3rd July 2010

Mark Smale (Nottingham Forest fan) says...

Luis Suarez how on earth did he get a 8.4 rating he is a total cheat, he knows he had to handle the ball on the line to make sure his team had any chnace of staying in the world cup, where is all this fair play and respect in the game, it is a totaly disgrace and they should be ashamed of themselves,

Posted 08:23 3rd July 2010

Broc Manu (Liverpool fan) says...

what is more a shame ? Henry's handball or Suarez's handball i CAN'T hear people saying it's a disgrace as it happens for Henry. On the contrary i read he is a Hero !!! what a disgrace....

Posted 08:19 3rd July 2010

Derry D (Shrewsbury Town fan) says...

And they call this the beautiful game. Saurez is a cheat and the game of football condones it. He's got his country through to the last four by cheating. This is not like Thierry Henry's cheating that denied the Rep of Ireland a place in the last 32, this act of cheating was seen by one and all and the referee administered the appropriate punishment as dictated by the rules of football. Sent off and a penalty which still left a chance for Uruguay and they took it. Is that fair? if the same set of circumstances present themselves to another "professional" football player, will he act any different, of course he wont. Football and the rules that govern the game allow cheating on a grand scale and for me is far too cynical to be associated with anything beautiful. In Rugby Union which has it's fault's, the ref upon deciding a certain score had been prevented by a cynical professional foul would have yellow carded the player (off for 10 mins) and awarded a penalty try. If football introduced similar stricter rules *including video reffing" one might be more inclined to cheer the good guys on.

Posted 08:07 3rd July 2010

Bob Smith (Kilmarnock fan) says...

Suarez will/should be a hero! He sacrificed himself to give his team a chance. If the ball goes in he's out but if he blocks he's out but maybe his team isn't. Unlucky for Ghana though.

Posted 07:16 3rd July 2010

Ibrahim Osekre (Manchester United fan) says...

I feel so much for Ghana for this was dau light robbery. Of course there is nothing in the FIFA to allow the referee to award a goal for the blatant goal line deliberate hand ball for which Ghana was rightly awarded the last minute penalty. I felt it should have been more than a penalty because the keeper was well beaten and there were two Uruguay players who attempted to handle the ball. Uruguay and FIFA need to be ashamed for this robbery and rightly apologise to Ghana and the football world. More importantly, such blatant anti-sporting behaviour should be severely punished. SHAME UNTO URUGUAY and FIFA. Well done GHANA . . .there is always tomorrow

Posted 07:05 3rd July 2010

Chris C says...

I think its criminal. Ghana should have a 2nd penalty after missing the extra time one, a second chance call it, just like Uruguay had....

Posted 07:04 3rd July 2010

Derek Smith (Liverpool fan) says...

Suarez is a cheat! He has confirmed what we all know about South American football - dirty play, simulation, violence, cheats!

Posted 06:52 3rd July 2010

Mc Beasto (Arbroath fan) says...

For me, football has turned into a circus, with out of date rules, lack of technology and players throwing themselves to the ground at will, spoiling the enjoyment. Suarez cheated by stopping a definite goal. Alot of people would have done the same, claiming it was instinctive, which is fair enough. However, i dont agree with Ghana being awarded a penalty. The ball was definitely going in so a 'penalty goal' should be rewarded. Rugby union has it, so why not football? Ghana were robbed by cheating and outdated rules, full stop. Football needs radical changes. New rules, goal line technology and measures to stop players diving left right and centre need to be looked at. Do football fans really want to be discussing divers, cheats and injustices after a game or the quality of the actual football? I have found myself drifting toward rugby union in recent years due to the farce that football has become. It's time for football to come out of the stone age and give the public a proper product that we are all looking for.

Posted 06:40 3rd July 2010

Grant Brook (West Ham United fan) says...

Don't feel sorry for Ghana. Remember they only got that extra-time penalty after one of their players deliberately cheated and fell over. As a result of Ghana's cheating, the referee gave Ghana a free-kick which then lead to Uruguay's handball on the goal line...Justice was done!

Posted 06:32 3rd July 2010

Derek Thomson says...

Ghana were the better team on the day and should have won. Unfortunately they were denied a goal because of a deliberate hand ball, which cheated them of the result they deserved. OK a red card and a penalty but it is Uruguay who are still in the quarter finals.

Posted 05:50 3rd July 2010

Stuart Mee (Staines Town fan) says...

I have read some views that because Suarez was caught he did not cheat. On that basis on criminal jailed/fined etc is not guilty because they were caught! What a bizarre thought process and one devoid of a view based in reality. Suarez cheated, FIFA must extend the ban to at least 2 matches then he will suffer the agony of never playing in the World Cup final, a once in a lifetime opportunity, should Uruguay beat Holland.

Posted 05:31 3rd July 2010

Clay Smith (Arsenal fan) says...

I agree that Suarez absolutely did the right thing. What a great game - and great World Cup. Poor Gyan...he'll never forgive himself.

Posted 04:23 3rd July 2010

Wondwossen Ayalew (Chelsea fan) says...

"Expect the Unexpected"

Posted 03:21 3rd July 2010

Tim Laheney says...

Cannot believe yet another south american cheat has succeeded in becoming a hero by his own nation... He should have been sent off and the goal should have been given. This is not what the beutiful game should be like.... All I have seen throughout this world cup is the glorification of cheats... In one Brazil game the ref asks fabiano if he handled it I mean does he expect the truth????? Why when these people are paid so much cannot they not have decent values and realise that they wont have won if they do it by cheating.... Or do we all now accept that cheating is fine if thats the case I think I will have to start teaching my four year old all over again.... This great game and competition has just been another blatter on the landscape

Posted 03:19 3rd July 2010
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