FIFA World Cup: Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0, miss out on Round of 16
Georgian de Arrascaeta scored a brace to give Uruguay a 2-0 win over Ghana. Still, he could not prevent Uruguay from being eliminated from the World Cup after South Korea beat Portugal.
Ghana can at least drink Luis Suarez tears on a sour day sweetened South Korea.The loss at Al-Janoub Stadium also eliminated Ghana from Group H.
It had already looked like Diego Alonso's team would advance after Andre Ayew's penalty was saved by Sergio Rochet, to put Uruguay on the right track.
It was also a painful experience for the Black Stars after Uruguay eliminated them from the 2010 World Cup after Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty following a last-minute Luis Suarez challenge. Uruguay won the quarterfinal on penalties.
Before the match, Suarez had refused to apologise, and there was penalty drama after 21 minutes when Ghana had a great chance to score the opening goal.
Rochet brought down Mohammed Kudus, after which Ghana was awarded a penalty after VAR referee Daniel Siebert consulted his monitor - but Rochet safely saved Ayew's spot kick.
It was a miss that immediately proved costly as De Arrascaeta struck twice in six minutes.
Darwin Nunez had already blocked a goalbound shot from Southampton's Mohammed Salisu before De Arrascaeta struck on 26 minutes.
Suarez was given too much time in the penalty area, and when Lawrence Ati-Zigi could only deflect his shot, De Arrascaeta headed in from two yards.
It got even better four minutes later when the Flamengo star finished off a fine move with a low volley past Lawrence Ati-Zigi.
Ghana were shocked, and at the break, Kamaldeen Suleiman and Usman Bukhari replaced Ayew and his brother Jordan.
That did nothing to change the game's direction, and Ghana escaped when Siebert failed to give the penalty demanded by Nunez after a clumsy foul by Daniel Amartey.
Facundo Pellistri shot wide for Uruguay, and Ati-Zigi blocked Federico Valverde's shot.
Time ran out for Ghana, and Antoine Semenyo shot wide before Rochet directed Kudus' shot against the post.
La Celeste had a good chance of making it to the Round of 16, but South Korea, who defeated Portugal 2-1, advanced thanks to a late winner from Hwang Hee-chan.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">LUIS SUAREZ AFTER SEEING THAT SOUTH KOREA SCORED!<br><br>AS IT STANDS, URUGUAY ARE ELIMINATED. <a href="https://t.co/rRvkP5CGTr">pic.twitter.com/rRvkP5CGTr</a></p>— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1598721380912095234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sebastian Coates failed to hit the post with his shot. News of South Korea's late surge reached Uruguay, and angry players surrounded referee Siebert after the final whistle.