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It was a Luis Suarez show that sunk the hopes of the English team and left them on the cusp of an early elimination from the 2014 FIFA World Cup.It was a below par performance from the England side who had promised of a better show after agoodouting in the 1-2 defeat against Italy.But the result gives genuine hopes of progression to the knockouts to the Oscar Tabarez managed Uruguay side who have bounced back after a crushing defeat to Costa Rica in their opener.Here are the five major talking points of the game:
#1 Luis Suarez confirms what the English had been fearing
Much loved by the Liverpool fans but hated by the rest in England, this match had been billed for long as Suarez vs England, especially after the controversies that the striker has been involved in the Premier League.
When reports of him undergoing surgery for a knee injury surfaced, it brought a sense of relief to the English, and the country hoped that Suarez would not be fit to face England in their Group D encounter.
After missing football action for 5 weeks after surgery, which included the defeat to Costa Rica, Suarez chose the perfect way to show his class to the world by scoring both goals for his side.
Yes, England’s defending was awful, but a striker needs to capitalize on chances and Suarez did so twice by scoring two brilliant goals, and thereby confirming the English’s fears that the player would return from injury to deliver a knockout blow to them.
#2 England lost the plot in midfield
A lot had been expected from the midfield duo of Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson after their partnership played a key role in Liverpool’s success in the 2013-14 Premier League season.
But the two were unable to control the midfield as England failed to retain possession and hence were unable to stamp their authority on the game.
Gerrard’s set pieces and ball distribution failed to produce any positive results, and he was directly at fault for Uruguay’s second goal. It has been a World Cup to forget for the England captain and he failed to deliver the goods for the second consecutive game.
#3 Defensive blues for England yet again
There were always concerns about the first-choice back four of the English team, and this game proved once again that the apprehensions were justified.
Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka rarely seemed comfortable, and often failed with relatively simple clearances. Glen Johnson did provide the assist for England’s goal, but offered little defensively.
Leighton Baines was a relatively controversial selection ahead of Ashley Cole, and while he has offered help while going forward, akin to Johnson, he has been found wanting while defending.
#4 Edinson Cavani proved to the perfect strike-partner for Suarez
It was Cavani’s wonderful cross from which Suarez headed to open the scoring. And later on, he forced Gerrard into a mistake which led to Suarez scoring the winner.
In the opening game against Costa Rica, Cavani was expected to lead Uruguay’s charge in the absence of Suarez, and even though he did score the only Uruguayan goal of that match through a penalty, his performances were below par.
However, in the game against England, Cavani played the perfect foil to Suarez and was central to both their goals.
#5 Wayne Rooney finally breaks his World Cup jinx
A much ridiculed statistic before Brazil’ 2014 was that Wayne Rooney hadn’t scored a single World Cup goal and many questioned if he deserved a place in the England starting XI.
After he missed an easy chance to equalize for England in the game against Italy, fresh doubts arose whether Rooney would ever manage a World Cup goal.
So when he latched on to Glen Johnson’s pass to score England’s goal after missing easy chances before in the game, Rooney would have heaved a mighty sigh of relief on finally breaking the jinx.
The match was one to forget for the England team, but for a player who has now scored 40 goals for his country, the goal has ensured he won’t have to deal with the taunts of not having scored in the pinnacle event of the sport.
