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Uruguay wins, but both teams advance
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By Jeffery Marcus
June 22, 2010
Rustenburg, SA — Uruguay and Mexico did not have to try very hard. A draw in their final Group A match Tuesday would have sent both teams to the second round of the World Cup. Neither the overmatched host team, South Africa, nor hapless France, playing at the same time in Bloemfontein, posed a viable threat in their group.
But that would not be “honest and sincere,” Uruguay Coach Oscar Tabárez said, and he sent his team out to earn a victory, which it did, 1-0, over an equally aggressive and adventurous Mexico team.
Uruguay (2-0-1) finished in first place in the group and Mexico (1-1-1) finished second ahead of South Africa (1-1-1) by virtue of its superior goal differential. It is the fifth consecutive World Cup in which Mexico has qualified for the second round.
“FIFA can rest assured we wanted to win,” Mexico Coach Javier Aguirre said after the game. “We didn’t play for a draw. We were loyal to our style. The difference was one goal.”
In 1982, after Algeria had won its final group game against Chile, 3-2, Germany and Austria conspired to play for a tie in their final group game of the World Cup, guaranteeing they would advance on goal differential and Algeria would be eliminated. The embarrassing lack of sportsmanship prompted FIFA to make it more difficult to engineer a result by playing the final group games simultaneously.World Cup Matches, Wed., June 23, 2010
Algeria vs United States (Match 38)
4:00 PM
Loftus Versfeld Stadium
(Pretoria, South Africa, ZAF)
Australia vs Serbia (Match 40)
8:30 PM
Mbombela Stadium
(Nelspruit, South Africa, ZAF)
Ghana vs Germany (Match 39)
8:30 PM
Soccer City
(Johannesburg, South Africa, ZAF)
Slovenia vs England (Match 37)
4:00 PM
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
(Port Elizabeth, South Africa, ZAF)
There is still a lot of scoreboard watching, but Aguirre assured skeptics his team was not even aware that South Africa was leading France, 2-0, at halftime.
“We were not concentrating on that,” he said. “We were concentrating on our own score.”
Mexico was unlucky not to register a goal in an up-and-down game in which both teams attacked with style and determination.
Aguirre started the 37-year-old forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco, and made him captain, for his 11th World Cup appearance, tying a Mexican record.
He is a bit tubby and does not, or cannot, run very fast for very long, but his passing and vision benefit the young attacking players around him. The wings Giovani dos Santos and Andrés Guardado were fast on the flanks and quick to turn inside, where their darting runs were particularly threatening.
In the 22nd minute, Guardado moved from outside in and back out with the ball, beating Uruguay midfielder Diego Pérez, who lunged at him, making contact. Guardado stumbled but remained on his feet rather than diving to the turf to earn a free kick, and he managed a thundering left-footed shot that easily beat goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, who could only watch as the ball scorched over his head and rattled the crossbar.
The lone goal came in the 43rd minute when Diego Forlán, the Uruguay striker who works as hard to set up his teammates as he does to score his own goals, sent a well-placed pass to forward Edinson Cavani, who was moving swiftly into the Mexico half on the right side of the field. Cavani lofted a first-time cross to the far post where Luis Suárez was lurking. He was poorly marked by Francisco Javier Rodríguez and easily headed the ball behind Mexico goalkeeper Óscar Pérez.
“I guess we were lacking attitude,” Aguirre said. “The first two plays on the field set the tone. When we made two mistakes, I had the feeling the team started doubting.”
Mexico returned after the halftime break with new urgency, but Uruguay controlled possession and the Mexican players’ final touch was lacking on numerous counterattacks.
“We were better,” Tabárez said. “But not really better when it came to scoring goals.”
Diego Lugano narrowly missed scoring a second for Uruguay in the 55th minute when his diving header in the Mexican penalty area connected with Forlán’s free kick.
Mexico had its best scoring chance of the second half nine minutes later when Rodríguez’s own diving header glanced just wide of the post.
Uruguay is the fourth South American team to qualify for the second round as teams from the continent have been surging at this World Cup, despite erratic qualifying campaigns from many of them.
In addition to Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Chile are guaranteed a spot in the second round. Paraguay is leading Group F and can advance with a win against New Zealand on Thursday or a tie if Slovakia beats Italy.
“In South America, the qualifying round is a long suffering and the World Cup is a joy,” Tabárez said. “The World Cup carries a different motivation. There are great teams, great players. This is a party.”
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2010, 2009
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