Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez has reminded his team they still have a job to do at the World Cup despite their agonising 2-3 semi-final defeat to the Netherlands.
The South Americans failed in their bid to make their first final in 60 years but still have to lift themselves for a third-place play-off against either Germany or Spain on Saturday in Port Elizabeth.
Tabarez said his team would recover and perform for their country’s pride. “To use a term that is common in the team — we have to bury this match and get over our sorrow,” he said.
“We must give a good image like the one we delivered against the Netherlands on the pitch to show people in football that Uruguay wants to play at an equal level with others. We want to show that this is a team with pride, despite our limitations, and this third-place play-off match is important for this reason,” Tabarez said.
The tiny South American nation, sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina, has been a revelation at the World Cup, making their first semifinal in 40 years while heavyweights like Brazil and Argentina were knocked out. Uruguay came into Tuesday’s match having conceded just two goals and they put up a credible fight against the Dutch. Their hopes took a setback on 18 minutes following Dutch captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s spectacular strike, and it looked like their could be on their way to a whipping.
But Uruguay hit back through captain Diego Forlan’s fourth goal of the event and his country’s eighth overall when he rifled his shot into the back of the Dutch net from 30 metres out. Two Dutch goals within three second-half minutes though put an end to the dream. “We can say that we were among the four semifinalists and the other three are powerhouses of Europe,” said Tabarez.
— AFP