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Crying, joy, anger and hatred were all seen in the World Cup football match between Ghana and Uruguay.
Luis Suarez, the team’s star player and one of the best strikers in the world, broke down in tears after failing to qualify for the next round despite winning the match.
Several Uruguayan players surrounded the referee after the match and were arguing furiously. One pushed aside the screen for the video umpire.
The term ‘revenge’ was widely used before this match. The rivalry between the two countries started during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Ghana, who lost the tournament, and Uruguay, who won, were eliminated from the Qatar World Cup. Portugal on points and South Korea on goals tally have qualified for the next round.
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What is the rivalry between Uruguay and Ghana?
Ghana and Uruguay met in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Suarez was included in that team.
With both teams scoring one goal each, Ghana had a chance to score a second goal in the final minutes. Dominic Adeiya headed the ball towards the Uruguayan goal, but Suarez saved it with his hand.
Suarez was shown a red card for handball and Ghana were awarded a penalty. But Ghana could not score the penalty chance.. Suarez who was on the bench celebrated it.
With both teams level at the end of the game, a penalty shoot-out was held to decide the eventual winner. Uruguay team won the match 4-2.
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Suarez’s goal-bound save against Ghana in 2010
Speaking after the match, Suarez said ‘His was the hand of God’, an indirect reference to Maradona’s 1986 goal.
The match created a great rivalry between Ghana and Uruguay. Speaking at the end of the match, the Ghanaian coach referred to Suarez as a ‘villain’. He accused Uruguay of cheating and injustice.
Uruguay did not accept these allegations. They said they followed the rules
Ghanaian football fans felt that Suarez had snubbed the first chance for a team from the African continent to reach the semi-finals. It was talked about as a national issue. Calls for him to apologize have continued over the years. But Suarez didn’t accept it.
The match was seen by many as an opportunity to settle the feud after 12 years when Ghana met Uruguay in a World Cup match.
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In 2010, Ghanaian football fans felt Suarez had snubbed the first chance for a team from the African continent to reach the semi-finals.
A chance for ‘revenge’ for Ghana
Ghana, who had already won the match against South Korea, saw the match against Uruguay as an opportunity to advance to the next round. In addition, there may have been a desire to avenge the defeat in the 2010 World Cup.
Suarez was the only player still playing in the 2010 Uruguay squad. At first there was speculation that he would not be fielded against Ghana. That didn’t happen. He became the talk of the social media as soon as he entered the arena.
In the 16th minute of the game, Ghana had a great chance. The Ghanaian Kudus took the ball into the penalty area when Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Roche collided with him. Both appealed to the arbitrator. Although at first it was announced that there was no penalty. Ghana were awarded a penalty with the help of the video referee.
The Ghanaian fans at the time must have felt like they had a missed penalty chance 12 years ago. But this time Ghana could not score. The ball scored by Kudus was blocked by the Uruguayan goalkeeper.
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Had that goal been scored, the course of the match could have changed. The order of bullet list will also change.
Subsequent shocks awaited Ghana in the 26th minute and 32nd minute after missing a penalty opportunity. Arrasqueta of Uruguay scored two goals in quick succession. Both goals were brilliantly assisted by Suarez. This increased the dominance of Uruguay in the match. The team engaged in successive scoring attempts.
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Why did Uruguay win and leave?
At the same time the Uruguay-Ghana match was going on, the South Korean team was facing a strong Portugal team. It was thought that the South Korean team had no chance of winning this match.
Both the teams scored one goal each, but in the last few minutes, the South Korean team scored another goal to take the lead. The news was shown live at the stadium where the Uruguay-Ghana match was taking place.
If the status quo continued, the two teams would be tied on points and goal difference, but South Korea would win on total goals scored.
So in the last minutes the Uruguayan team played very seriously. But the team could not score any additional goal till the end. So even if they win, they don’t qualify for the next round.
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Crying and joy
At the end of the Ghana-Uruguay match, both teams were eliminated from the tournament. The Uruguayan players argued furiously with the referee.
At the same time, some Ghanaian fans were visibly worried and at the same time happy that Uruguay had been knocked out of the competition. Similar comments were also seen on social media.
There was also criticism of the Ghanaian team in the last minute of the match for not wanting to score the goals they needed to win.
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Above all, the footage of Suarez covering his face and crying on the bench in the final minutes of the match garnered the most attention.
This is expected to be the last World Cup match for Suarez, one of the world’s most talented forwards. He was embroiled in controversies including biting opposing players.
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