In one of the most dramatic and strange games you will ever see, Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 on a late header by Diego Godin. With the win, Uruguay advances to the Round of 16 and Italy is eliminated.
Controversy was the theme of the match as a questionable red card was handed out in the 60th minute to Italian midfielder, Claudio Marchisio. Italy would play the next 35 minutes of the match going for the draw with only 10 men.
The moment of the match that will certainly have the entire world talking and social media a buzz, will be the third presumed bite on a player by Luis “the Cannibal” Suarez. Suarez, who was the hero in Uruguay’s match against England, was seen on replay biting Italian defender, Giorgio Chiellini. Suarez, who has a reputation of being a biter, has already been suspended two separate times for biting in the past.
The enigmatic star will certainly be under an investigation by FIFA for he has bitten an opponent for at least the third time. This time however, under the microscope of the sport’s greatest stage.
Before the game, Cesare Prandelli made a surprising move by starting two forwards up top. Mario Balotelli AND Ciro Immobile. As Italy looked to push the pace early and go for the win, rather than the draw.
Through the first twenty minutes of the match, Italy manhandled Uruguay on defense. They made sure to force Uruguay to the middle not allowing them space on the wings. Suarez and Cavani had no opportunities early on.
In the 22nd minute, Mario Balotelli picked up a very lazy and unnecessary yellow card; it was his second yellow card in his many matches and ultimately would lead to him not returning to the pitch in the second half. Had Italy, went on to win the game, he would not have been suspended for their Round of 16 game.
Italy controlled the possession game by maintaining the ball for almost 60% of the time.
In the second half, tensions began to rise and you could feel the intensity in the air. Uruguay began to press a little more as the desperation showed on their face the longer the game went on.
The game of cat and mouse continued when in a shocking move, Italy substituted out star, Mario Balotelli for Marco Parolo. The prevailing thought for the Italians being that Balotelli whom already had one yellow card and was getting very emotional in the match, would get under the skin of the referees and get himself sent off. In a conservative move to prevent that from happening, Prandelli choose to substitute him. Uruguay countered the move with a substitution of their own; they took out Nicolas Lodeiro and sent in Maximiliano Pereira for defensive purposes.
Frustrations mounted for Uruguay the longer the game went on with a scoreless tie. Edinson Cavani could be seen verbally yelling at the referees, the Italians and their own team. They would continue to stay tough and hang in the match though.
Uruguay was handed a golden opportunity in the 60th minute when Italian midfielder Claudio Marchisio was given a red card for a play on top of the ball. It was a very controversial decision at the time as on replay, the foul did not look deserving of a red. Nonetheless, it was stupid on the Italian’s part and they would be forced to play the rest of the match with 10 men. Uruguay clearly had the momentum and door wide open to win the match and advance to the Round of 16.
With the undermanned Italians parking the bus their own zone on defense, and most certainly prepared to defend their turf and aim for the draw, Uruguay countered by subbing offense for defense throughout the final 30 minutes of the match.
Italy substituted defense for offense in the 70th minute by substituting Ciro Immobile for Antonio Cassano. With little to no opportunities coming on offense in the final twenty minutes for the Italians, they would try and hold their ground with just ten men.
Uruguay would increase the tempo and bring more men forward in the final fifteen minutes of the game making a full on push to get the winning goal. We knew that Italy would most likely not get the goal needed to win the group or secure the final spot outright. The final moments of the match would come down to this: could Uruguay score on the undermanned Italians, or would Italy shut down Cavani and Suarez and get the scoreless tie, sending them to the second round.
Then came the moment that will from here on be known as the “bite heard round the world.” Luis Suarez, aka The Cannibal, appeared to bite Giorgio Chiellini in the box on the 80th minute of the match. As both players fell to the ground, the Italians urged the referee to hand out the red card to Suarez. He did not however, even as Chiellini pulled down his jersey showing the referee, and the world, the bite marks on his shoulder.
The decision not to show Suarez the red card would ultimately come back to sink Italy as just seconds later, Suarez sent a corner into the box that was headed in off a set piece by Diego Godin. Godin’s headers are infamous for winning important matches for his team as he has scored the game winning goal off headers in the Spanish and Champions League Finals, respectively.
The goal and the no-call on Suarez’s bite ended any hope for Italy as their World Cup dreams ended. Both benches were screaming at each other in the final moments over the non-call on the Suarez bite. But no amount of complaining or arguing could change the outcome for Italy.
The loss for Italy sends them home where the controversy will surely continue on for days and months to come. The loss also most likely marks the end of the careers of two of the greatest Italian soccer players all time in Gigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo.
Uruguay will move on to face Colombia in their opening match of the Round of 16.
Game Notes:
It was an overall rough game as nearly 40 fouls were committed by both sides. With the loss, European power houses, Spain, Italy and England scored a combined mediocre seven points at the 2014 World Cup. South American countries are now 6-2 against European sides at the 2014 World Cup so far.
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