Despite beating Ghana 2-0 in what proved to be their final match, Luis Suarez and co were eliminated on goals scored, as South Korea snuck through thanks to a late 2-1 victory over Portugal. Although Uruguay picked up their first win of the tournament, they still needed one more goal to reach the last 16 and would've had a golden opportunity if Siebert had awarded them with a penalty. Firstly, in the 57th minute, Darwin Nunez was taken down by Daniel Amartey inside the Ghana box. The German official, who'd waved play on, was told by VAR to review his original decision on the pitch-side monitor, but Siebert refused to overturn his call. His firm doubling down left Uruguay enraged and, for them, it was about to get worse. That's because in the dying embers, after South Korea's dramatic win was sealed and they were left hoping that Uruguay wouldn't score a third, Edinson Cavani took a tumble in the penalty area. To his fury, VAR didn't even bother to send Siebert to the monitor. Cavani and Gimenez were both shown yellow cards for their post-match protests, as they were seen harassing the 38-year-old referee after he'd brought the fiercely contested clash to a close.
Legendary striker Suarez was in tears at full-time after what's likely go down as his final appearance at a World Cup. The ex-Liverpool and Barcelona marksman certainly made his mark before being subbed off in the second half, having provided the assist for both of Uruguay's goals. Teammate Giorgian de Arrascaeta finished them off and sent Ghana home. The Black Stars were in only need of a draw to reach the knockout stage and found themselves in agony after Andre Ayew saw his early penalty saved. But it wasn't in the script that Diego Alonso's side would follow them home, as South Korea completed their comeback against Portugal with a 91st-minute strike from Hwang Hee-Chan to send them through to the last 16.
Uruguay and Ghana's meeting was always going to be a messy affair thanks to the two nations' infamous quarter-final at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It was Suarez who blatantly handballed what would've been a late winning goal for Ghana just as Dominic Adiyah's shot was about to cross the line. Suarez was sent off with a straight red card, Ghana talisman Asamoah Gyan stepped up to take the resulting penalty but skied his effort. The Black Stars would go on to lose the subsequent penalty shout-out and squander the best chance of reaching a World Cup semi-final in their history. This time, though, Uruguay were going down with them at the first hurdle. Alonso's men failed to reach the knockout stage mainly due to a drab 0-0 draw with South Korea and 2-0 defeat to Portugal.
Source: Mirror
