publish time

03/12/2022

author name Arab Times

publish time

03/12/2022

AL WAKRAH, Qatar (AP) — Luis Suarez couldn’t watch as his Uruguay team slid toward a painful World Cup exit. He put his hands in front of his eyes, then pulled his shirt over his head. When his face emerged again, there were tears.

Uruguay's Guillermo Varela sits at the end of a World Cup group H soccer against Ghana match at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022. Uruguay won 2-0 but failed to qualify to the next round. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The Uruguay captain sat in the dugout after being substituted as his team beat Ghana 2-0 on Friday but was still eliminated from the tournament by a stoppage-time goal in another game.

A late goal by Hwang Hee-chan secured South Korea a last-gasp 2-1 win over Portugal and a place in the last 16 from Group H at Uruguay’s expense because it scored more goals. After the most dramatic end to the group, Portugal advanced as group winner and South Korea clinched second.

Ghana, which came into the last set of games in second place, was also eliminated.

“It is sadness and disappointment that we feel,” said Suarez, who was playing in his last World Cup. “I was lucky enough to play my fourth World Cup, and I was thinking about my 4-year-old son, who is leaving with the image of sadness. It’s difficult, but it’s up to me to face the situation.”