World Cup 2014

20 06 2014 Uruguay beat England 2-1

Uruguay’s Luis Suarez celebrates for his second goal during a Group D match between Uruguay and England of 2014 FIFA World Cup at the Arena de Sao Paulo Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 19, 2014.Uruguay won 2-1 over England on Thursday.(Xinhua/Li Ga)< SAO PAULO, Brazil, June 19  Luis Suarez, who recovered from injury and returned to starting line-up, scored twice to help Uruguay beat England 2-1 in their World Cup Group D second round here on Thursday. Suarez, 27, was elected the Man of the Match. He said after the match that his family, teammates and coaches gave him great support during his recovery. “I feel so great today and I will keep my form in the upcoming matches,” he said. Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said, “Suarez is a wonderful player. We admire him.” “My players did well in concentration today and played actively,” Tabarez said. During the tight match, Wayne Rooney scored his first World Cup goal and his 40th for England, taking him joint-fourth on his country’s all-time goalscorers list – level with Michael Owen. Uruguay and England, both losing in the first round of World Cup Group D, fought closely to survive the Group of Death, also containing Italy and Costa Rica. Liverpool forward Suarez haunted his Liverpool teammates in the 39th minute when the ball was spread to forward Edinson Cavani on the Uruguay left. Cavani chipped a delicate ball in to the onrushing Suarez, who nodded superbly past England keeper Joe Hart. In the 75th minute, England defender Glen Johnson made great progress down the right and played the ball across the penalty area. It bounced across to the Rooney who touched home with his left foot. It was elation for Uruguay and heartbreak for England in the 85th minute when Suarez broke through a static Three Lions defense, smashing home past Hart. The two-man striking force, Suarez and Cavani, played the key role in Uruguay’s win. When the tireless Cavani crafted, grafted and combined well with Suarez for the opening goal, it was the work of two world-class attackers with an experience of multiple games together at the highest level. Suarez’s low crosses, from play or corners, troubled his opponents far more than the flurry of first-half corners which England pitched high into the Uruguay box. Twice Joe Hart was caught out at the near post. Uruguay defender and Captain Diego Godin was booked on 14 minutes. Uruguay are now on five cards (4 yellow and 1 red) at Brazil 2014, most of all teams. Tabarez said, “We haven’t survived the group yet. The match against Italy will be very tough.” England coach Roy Hodgson said that his team will fight to the end and play all out in the game against Costa Rica. Suarez’s brilliant form put England on the brink of an early World Cup exit. But in theory, England are still alive in the World Cup. If Italy top the group with three wins, and England beat Costa Rica in the third round, England, Uruguay and Costa Rica will share the same three points from three matches. According to the FIFA rule on this World Cup, the survivors of the teams with same points will be decided by goal difference firstly. Colombia beat Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 in their World Cup Colombia beat Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 in their World Cup Group C match here on Thursday.Colombia, who defeated Greece 3-0 in their opening match, are now favored to enter the last 16.James Rodriguez and Juan Fernando Quintero gave Colomiba a 2-0 lead through goals in the 64th and 70th minute. Gervinho made it 2-1 for Cote d’Ivoire with a superb individual goal.Colombia, making their first appearance at the finals since 1998, will qualify for the second round if the match later on Thursday between  Japan and Greece ends in a draw.Cote d’Ivoire, who beat Japan 2-1 in the first match, are still to qualify for the knockout stage. They will meet Greece in the last match.  Japan  held goalless by  Greece NATAL, Brazil, June 19  — Japan  held goalless by  Greece in their lethargic Brazil World Cup Group C match here on Thursday after squandering numerous scoring chances here on Thursday. The Greek skipper Katsouranis was out after picking up his second yellow card in the 38th minute as he slid in and mistimed his challenge on Japan’s captain Hasebe. However Japan still found difficult to score though they had a 68% ball possession advantage in the do-or-die match. With Japan losing its opener 2-1 to Cote d’Ivoire and Greece getting thumped 3-0 by Colombia, both teams desperately need a win to stay in contention to qualify for the last 16 knockout stage of football’s biggest international tournament. In another match in Group C, Colombia beat Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 and with the goalless draw between Japan and Greece, Colombia advance to the knockout stages