Uruguay have booked their place in the semi-finals of the World Cup following a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out success over Ghana.
Abreu nets winning penalty to set up Holland clash
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.
| Uruguay |
Team Statistics |
Ghana |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
15 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
6 |
| 12 |
Corners |
8 |
| 23 |
Fouls |
23 |
| 6 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 66.9 |
Passing Success |
74 |
| 31 |
Tackles |
26 |
| 74.2 |
Tackles Success |
73.1 |
| 43.2 |
Possession |
56.8 |
| 46.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
53.8 |
|
