Uruguay Players Were Devastated After A Late South Korea Goal Knocked Them Out Of The World Cup

With Portugal already through to the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup, the remaining three teams in Group H went into Friday’s games jostling for second place. By the time the dust settled, a South Korea stoppage time goal over the Portuguese meant that they were moving on, while both sides in the Ghana-Uruguay game saw their World Cup campaigns come to an end.

A pair of first half goals by Uruguay’s Giorgian de Arrascaeta were crucial in their effort to eliminate Ghana and put themselves in as good of a position as possible. La Celeste needed a win to guarantee that the Black Stars would not have a shot of advancing, and between a saved penalty and goals in the 26th and 32nd minute, Ghana’s chances of moving on — which were dependent on at least a draw and a loss for Korea — took a major hit.

Portugal, meanwhile, put up an early hurdle to Korea’s quest to move on. Korea needed a win to ensure they would make the knockouts, but five minutes into their game against the European giants, Ricardo Horta scored to put them behind the 8-ball.

Korea got one back in the 27th minute on this effort by Kim Young-gwon, but as things stood going into the half, Uruguay was slated to secure second place. Only one thing could change that: Korea getting another goal, which would propel them into second place on goal differential as things stood.

And to add to the drama, early on in the second half, Uruguay looked like it was going to get a chance to pad its goal differential — thereby making it so Korea needed to beat Portugal by two. Darwin Núñez got into the box and was taken down. A penalty was given, but VAR intervened to wipe it off of the board.

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If this World Cup has made one thing clear, it’s that the football gods are a cruel, cruel bunch. And in stoppage time, South Korea took advantage of VAR intervening in the other game, as a perfectly-executed counterattack ended with Hwang Hee-chan putting the ball in the back of the net.

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Word of the goal traveled quickly to the stadium where Uruguay played, and the side’s legendary striker, Luis Suárez, was moved to tears as he learned the news.

Uruguay’s fans and players on the bench could do nothing but hope that the 11 men on the pitch could make something happen.

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But a third goal did not come. Ghana, which has quite the history with Uruguay (and particularly Suárez) at the World Cup, was resilient, and as the seconds ticked away, the sense of desperation and, eventually, devastation could be felt from thousands of miles away. All Uruguay’s players could do was try to confront the officials as they tried to make their way into the tunnel after the game.

Portugal and South Korea will learn who they will end up playing in the knockout stage soon, when Group G becomes the final group to play its third game a little later today.