By Robbie Blakeley, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – England lost 2-1 to Uruguay this afternoon to all but end their World Cup dreams at the Arena Corinthians. If England are to progress to the final sixteen, they must become the first team to do so having lost their opening two group games.
Luis Suarez, quite possibly the most lethal striker on the planet at this moment in time, was the undoing for the Three Lions with both goals for the South Americans. Having lost their opener to Costa Rica, Uruguay are now very much alive in Group D.
In one of the most exciting games of the competition so far, Uruguay went ahead on 39 minutes after an even first half. Nicolas Lodeiro robbed Jordan Henderson in the middle of the park. He laid the ball out to Edinson Cavani on the left, whose dinked cross found Luis Suarez peeling off Phil Jagielka. The Liverpool striker craned his neck to loop the ball beyond Joe Hart in the England goal.
Daniel Sturridge had a chance to level almost immediately but was thwarted by Uruguayan goalkeeper Musrela. England went in at the break a goal down and with the pressure piled on. Next at the beginning of the restart it was Uruguay who started the brighter, Edinson Cavani wasting a golden chance to put real daylight between the sides when he was through one-on-one.
As England probed there was a nervousness to their play, a knowledge that defeat could mean the end. Yet fifteen minutes from time Glen Johnson’s low cross found Rooney in the middle to convert his first ever World Cup goal. The look of delight on his face highlighted its importance.
Yet England could not hold on. Musrela punted a long ball down field, the ball glancing off Steven Gerrard’s head and wrong-footing Gery Cahill. Suarez, as the best players do, pounced on the moment of hesitation. Racing through, he unleashed a piledriver into the roof of the net that could have sealed England’s miserable World Cup fate.
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