Manchester United’s Facundo Pellistri was involved in Uruguay’s victory over Ghana in their last group game, but it wasn’t enough to send the South Americans into the playoffs of the tournament.
It was an action-packed first half. Uruguayan goalkeeper Roche knocked down Kudus in the penalty area, and after a long check VAR Ghana was awarded a penalty.
Andre Ayew stepped up and his soft penalty was easily deflected by Roche, who dived to his left.
At the other end, Nunes thought he had made a breakthrough for Uruguay when he threw the ball over the goalkeeper, but Ghana defended him from the line.
However, they soon took the lead: De Arraskaeta struck with his head after the goalkeeper beat off Suarez’s first shot.
And again, De Arraskaeta, with a brilliant strike from the summer, allowed Uruguay to take control of the ball, and they led 2-0.
Since South Korea was still losing to Portugal, it seemed that Uruguay could beat the Portuguese.
In the second half, Ghana got into the fight, but Uruguay also had their chances, and the drama continued when Uruguay converted a penalty. This time, Nunez was knocked down, and although the VAR system called the referee to the monitor, he decided that the Ghanaian defender had won the ball.
The last act of Pellistri’s game was a brilliant chance for a third goal, as the ball fell to him in the penalty area, but his control shot was fleeting and hit the side netting.
Although the 20-year-old had a pretty good game on the surface, the accuracy of his passes was low: he completed only 69% of the passes. He won only a third of his ground duels and none of his aerial duels.
However, he was an exciting player to watch as he tried to be involved as much as possible by doing a few key tackles as well as making good long ball pitches in the future.
The Uruguay coach dismissed his scorers De Arrascaeta, Suarez and Nunez, thinking he had done enough and added alternatives in defense, but news that South Korea had scored leaked. They had a 2-1 score against Portugal.
Luis Suarez was practically crying on the bench, looking at the big screen. This meant that South Korea would pass, as Korea and Uruguay scored the same points and the same goal difference, but Korea scored more.
Ex-Reds Edinson Cavani had a great opportunity to find a third, but the Ghanaian goalkeeper made a world-class save but landed awkwardly. It would have been considered offside, but he shouldn’t have known.
South Korea waited patiently until eight minutes of added time followed, with Ghana chasing two goals and Uruguay aiming for the decisive third goal that put them out of the game.
A free kick in the last minute was successfully deflected, and when the final whistle sounded, the Uruguayan players surrounded the referee and officials, with some of them, including Cavani, receiving warnings.
It was a dramatic finale for Group H.
