By Robin Bairner
Miracles Do Happen
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| Image source: goal.com |
Both Uruguay and the Netherlands are small nations steeped in World Cup history but only one has the ability to progress to another final when the sides meet on Tuesday evening in Cape Town.
It’s been 60 years since the Celeste were on top of the world, yet Oscar Tabarez’s side stand only 180 minutes from arguably their greatest ever success. The story could have been very different after a dramatic quarter-final meeting with Ghana that saw the South Americans come through in remarkable circumstances.
Having fallen behind in first half stoppage time, Uruguay battled back after the break thanks to a goal from Diego Forlan. When Luis Suarez was dismissed in the very last minute of stoppage time for handling a goalbound header on the line it seemed he had earned his side only a temporary reprieve but Asamoah Gyan sent his penalty against the bar. From a seemingly impossible position, the Celeste then won on penalty kicks.
“The ‘Hand of God’ now belongs to me,” Suarez cheekily proclaimed to the press after the game. “There was no alternative for me. This was the end of the World Cup and when I saw Gyan miss the penalty it was a great joy. I thought ‘it is a miracle’.”
Uruguay’s football history is marked with controversy due to the stereotypically unscrupulous nature of their defending, but this was not la Garra Charrua – the fighting spirit of the Uruguayans – as seen before. Nevertheless, the Celeste will no longer have the support of neutral South Africans after such a notorious incident, which Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac labelled “an injustice against football”.
Organised at the back, dangerous up front and prepared to do anything to earn progression through to the final, Uruguay should not be discounted.
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