It didn’t take long to be reminded of why so many prayers were said in Uruguay these past few weeks; why so many column inches have been dedicated to the state of one man’s knee; why Europe’s richest clubs will vie to tempt Liverpool’s prize asset away from Merseyside this summer.
Luis Suarez may have only been 70% fit, but his guile, cunning and speed of thought were enough to deliver England’s World Cup aspirations a mortal blow.
The problems Suarez would pose became abundantly clear after just four minutes. Seeing Joe Hart a few feet off his line, the Uruguayan whipped in a corner aimed for the keeper’s vacated near post. Hart scrambled the ball to safety, but this was a mere entrée to 85 minutes of crafty flicks, neat touches, free kicks earned and set pieces delivered; Suarez's footballing brain making up for any loss in physical pace.
This was not, however, a one-man show: the Uruguay of Sao Paulo was as different to Fortaleza as Michael Jackson’s facial features pre- and post-Thriller. La Celeste played with a hunger and energy that was sorely lacking against Costa Rica, harrying the English midfield and allowing their attacking quartet none of the time they enjoyed against Italy. Ironically, even though conditions here were far more “English” than in Manaus, it was Uruguay’s high tempo pressing game that likely benefitted most.
It took 39 minutes for Suarez’s trickery and Uruguay’s industry to deliver. Winning the ball in midfield, Edison Cavani was released down England’s left to run at Glen Johnson. As Cavani delivered a perfectly weighted cross towards the box, Suarez ghosted behind the stranded Phil Jagielka to head the ball past Joe Hart. Uruguay erupted, with Suarez at the epicentre.
Suarez puts in a header past English defender Joe Hart (Photo: ESPN Broadcast)
England were not as dangerous as in the Amazon. While they claimed the greater share of possession, the decisive pass in the final third proved elusive. Rooney and Sturridge both missed chances in open play, while England’s set pieces – one Rooney freekick aside – were woeful in their execution. Perhaps it was nerves; maybe it was Uruguay’s energetic defense.
Whatever the cause, it wasn’t until the last thirty minutes that England managed to apply sustained pressure within Uruguay’s final third. Once again, England’s equalizer was crafted by Liverpool sons adopted and native; Sturridge releasing Johnson down the left, whose cross left Rooney with the simplest of tap-ins for his first goal in a World Cup.
Rooney scores his first World Cup goal and a short-lived equalizer versus Uruguay with an easy tap-in (Photo: @TeleFootball | Twitter)
English lions were rampant: with fifteen minutes remaining, white shirts tore forward in search of a killer blow, encapsulating everything that is exciting about this current crop of players. But for all their attacking bravado, Hodgson's England have a defensive frailty that continues to undermine their forward potential. It took nothing more sophisticated than a hopeful punt on 85 minutes from the luminescent Muslersa to dismantle England’s first choice centre back pairing. Where Cahill dithered, Suarez gambled, and the moment the ball found its way to the Uruguayan, unmarked, in the English box, the result was a foregone conclusion: 2-1 Uruguay.
The whole of England is now die-hard Azzurri: Italy must win their two remaining games for Hodgson's men to stand any chance of progressing. Uruguay, by contrast, travel to Natal with their destiny firmly in their own grasp. They have Luis Suarez’s knee surgeon to thank.
