Life without Suarez too tough for Uruguay
A shock 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica on Saturday showed the Luis Suarezshaped hole in Uruguay’s forward line was just too big to fill, leaving fans praying for his speedy return before World Cup Group D opponents England and Italy come knocking.
Suarez, rampant in the English Premier League last season with 31 goals in 33 matches, has been battling to recover from keyhole surgery on his left knee three weeks ago but was not deemed fit enough by coach Oscar Tabarez to face Costa Rica, despite completing a training match without any problems.
Strong in the air and with good close control Uruguay’s other multimillion pound forward, Edinson Cavani, makes a good link-up man for the more dynamic Suarez. Without him, a front two of Cavani and veteran Diego Forlan was less potent.
Forlan, 35, lasted an hour before being taken off, a deflected strike that almost crept in his best effort. Cavani was left to chase wayward long balls and struggled to link up with his midfielders as Suarez does so effectively.
A well taken first half penalty showed his ability, with a decent header parried away his only other bright spot.
The absence of Suarez exposed a lack of creativity in the Uruguay side. The holding midfield pair of Walter Gargano and Egidio Arevalo was industrious but lacked flair. With the Uruguayan wingers well marshalled, the poor long range passing of centre back duo Diego Godin and Diego Lugano was exposed.