South American Futbol - Libertadores, Sudamericana, World Cup 2010

Suarez sent Uruguay to the quarters -Photo: Terra

Uruguay reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time in forty years after beating South Korea 2-1 in perhaps the most dramatic match of the tournament thus far. The Uruguayans won the match courtesy of two outstanding strikes from Luis Suarez.

Playing under torrential rainfall, Suarez put Uruguay ahead in the 8th minute when he met a superb Diego Forlan cross from the left flank with a tremendous finish from a tight angle.

Oscar Tabarez’s side continued to play the better football, and they looked extremely dangerous each time they moved to the attack.

But as the half progressed Uruguay sat back in defense and allowed the South Koreans to take the game to them.

After the break the Asians dominated their opponents, and it seemed that at any moment they would level the score.

Finally after much pressure South Korea equalised in the 68th minute when Uruguay couldn’t deal with a dangerous cross allowing Lee Chung-yong to beat Fernando Muslera with a smart header.

But once again the match turned on its head, as Uruguay lifted their game and went looking for the winner, which arrived ten minutes from full-time when Suarez sidestepped two defenders, before curling a right-footed shot in off the post from the edge of the area.

The match continued at a frantic pace, and in the 87th minute Dong-Gook Lee was presented with an incredible opportunity to tie the game for South Korea, but his effort was cleared off the goal line by a Uruguay defender.

Uruguay — two-time world champions — had not reached this instance of the World Cup since 1970. They will face a quarter-final against the United States or Ghana, who also play on Saturday.