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Home , Daniel Sturridge, Phil Jagielka

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2014 47

FAN FERVOR

SAO PAULO: England’s goalkeeper (center) deflects a shot by Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani (left) during the Group D World Cup soccer match. — AP Suarez brace sinks England

SAO PAULO: A brilliant double strike by Luis lost the ball on the halfway line. Suarez put England on the brink of a humiliating Nicolas Lodeiro passed left to Cavani, who World Cup exit as Uruguay won 2-1 in a tense wrong-footed the entire defence with a sumptuous Group D match yesterday. diagonal chip to the Liverpool forward, who got Suarez, back in action just four weeks after knee away from Jagielka and looped his header over surgery, put Uruguay ahead with a 39th-minute Hart. header before equalised with his Almost straight away, Sturridge drew a sharp first ever World Cup finals goal. stop from Fernando Muslera as England sought in But Liverpool hitman Suarez had the final say vain for a response before half-time. when he latched on to a long ball and smashed After the break, Suarez very nearly doubled home the winner five minutes from time, leaving Uruguay’s lead first when his corner was parried by England staring at their first group stage exit since Hart off the line, and then when he shot well wide 1958. with the goal at his mercy. England, who also lost their first game 2-1 to England, now defending in front of the Uruguay Italy, are now left relying on the Azzurri beating support, were looking ragged and Cavani also Costa Rica on Friday to keep them in the competi- should have put his team 2-0 up when he burst into tion. the penalty area but fired wide. Despite familiar temperatures of 12 degrees C However, Rooney almost got the equaliser when (54 F), England started nervily and after conceding he latched on to a cross from the left and ham- an early corner, goalkeeper Joe Hart had to beat mered a shot at the diving Muslera. away Suarez’s place-kick at his near post. But An accidental knee to the head England’s pacey forwards were soon causing prob- knocked out Alvaro Pereira but he refused to be lems and when drew a foul for substituted. Sturridge burst into the box and handball near the penalty area, Rooney’s free-kick should have done better with a weak shot which curled agonisingly wide. rolled to the goalkeeper. England boss Roy England, with Rooney playing centrally behind Hodgson threw on and Sturridge, looked the stronger but they suffered a for Sterling and but it was Glen scare when lost the ball in defence and Johnson who created England’s breakthrough Cristian Rodriguez couldn’t keep his rising shot on when he beat his man on the right of the box. target. After a scrappy period, Uruguay again went The right-back’s rolled ball fell perfectly for close when Suarez’s low corner from the right was Rooney and the grateful Manchester United striker struck first time by Cavani but whistled over the had the simplest of tap-ins as he finally scored his bar. debut goal at a World Cup finals. On the half-hour, Rooney came within inches of Sturridge then worked Muslera as England, scoring when, from about a yard away, he headed a buoyed by Rooney’s goal, came alive and looked an free-kick against the angle between increasing threat. the post and crossbar. But again it was Uruguay who struck through England were in the ascendancy but six minutes Suarez, who gambled to latch onto a long ball from from the break, it was Uruguay who scored on the defence and lashed his shot past Hart, before cele- counter via the hitherto quiet Suarez, after England brating wildly in front of his adoring fans. — AFP