With the Luis Suarez affair already taken its toll on the team and rest of the country, the best Uruguay can do is overcome Colombia in their World Cup’s last 16 tie on Saturday.
With the Luis Suarez affair already taken its toll on the team and rest of the country, the best Uruguay can do is overcome Colombia in their World Cup’s last 16 tie on Saturday.
When Uruguay’s players should be focusing solely on the threat posed by Colombia’s attackers, they instead find themselves under the cosh in the wake of one of the biggest World Cup scandals in recent memory.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was on Thursday handed a nine-match international ban and a four-month overall suspension for the ‘biting incident’ that involved Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini’s left shoulder during Uruguay’s last group game.
It was the third time he has been found guilty of biting an opponent, after previous incidents included club duties with Ajax and Liverpool, but the heaviness of the punishment saw him leave the team hotel and has left all of Uruguay in shock. The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) immediately said they would appeal the FIFA ban. The controversy has somewhat distracted the attention from Uruguay’s return to the Maracana, scene of their historic win over Brazil in the decisive game of the last Brazilian World Cup in 1950.
In Suarez’s absence, veteran Diego Forlan is expected to come into Uruguay’s frontline alongside Edinson Cavani, as he did when Suarez missed his side’s opening game – a 3-1 loss to Costa Rica through injury.
Opponents Colombia, meanwhile are bidding to make history by reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. On their only previous last-16 appearance, in 1990, a team captained by Carlos Valderrama lost 2-1 to Cameroon. Coach Jose Pekerman will also be buoyed by the fact that the Colombians have beaten their South American rivals 4-0 during the qualifying round in September 2012.
Argentine coach Pekerman, who led his native country to the quarter-finals in 2006, will restore several first-team players to the starting line-up, including three-goal Rodriguez, after making eight changes for Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Japan.
Colombia’s attacking threat will mainly be led by James Rodriguez and Jackson Martinez who will look to upstage the Uruguayan threat. Colombia has been one of the consistent teams in this year’s World Cup in Brazil and will pose a great deal of threat for Uruguay. Without their talismanic striker Luis Suarez, it’s up to the veteran Diego Forlan and Edison Cavani to stage a comeback into the game that seems already lost on ‘paper’.
