South American dark horses Colombia cantered into the World Cup knockout round on Thursday and 2010 semi-finalists Uruguay put hapless England on the brink of elimination with a Luis Suarez-inspired 2-1 win.
Returning from knee surgery and facing several Liverpool team mates, Suarez scored a brilliant header to put Uruguay ahead then won the game with a lethal drive after Wayne Rooney had equalised with his first World Cup goal.
“God Save The King!” read one proud banner over a photo of Suarez among the hordes of blue-clad Uruguayans dancing at the final whistle in Sao Paulo’s Corinthians arena.
The charismatic Suarez celebrated the first goal with his doctor, then showed class in hugging disconsolate Liverpool colleague and England captain Steven Gerrard at the end.
“I dreamed about this. I am enjoying this moment after all the criticism I had to take,” said Suarez, who fought back tears after his second goal.
The Uruguayan ace has had an up-and-down time in the Premier League with bans for racism and biting before winning last season’s Player of the Year award.
Uruguay joined Italy and Costa Rica, who meet on Friday, on three points with England on zero after two losses in Group D.
Having started their campaigns with exciting wins, Colombia and Ivory Coast served up a thriller as expected in Brasilia.
reuters
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