Uruguay proved itself as one of the toughest teams in the 2010 World Cup. The South American representative played brilliantly while in South Africa.
Oscar Tabarez was able to bring his team to talk a lot at the 2010 World Cup. At that time, Uruguay was able to survive until the semifinals.
Uruguay even has a great chance of qualifying for the top party. but his move was thwarted by Bert van Marwijk's Dutch national team.
Diego Forlan et al must recognize the superiority of Team Orange with a thin score of 3-2. The defeat against the Netherlands finally buried Uruguay's dream to appear in the 2010 World Cup Final.
Uruguay's journey to the 2010 World Cup
Uruguay went to the 2010 World Cup South Africa status as a dark horse team. The South American team is on a mission to go as far as possible in the 2010 World Cup.
Joined in Group A, Uruguay's steps are not easy. They must join the 2006 World Cup finalists France, host South Africa and World Cup subscriptions Mexico.
But surprisingly, Uruguay appeared attractive to occupy Group A champions. Diego Forlan et al were even able to get rid of the superior French team in Group A Phase as caretaker.
Qualified for the Knock-Out Phase, Uruguay appeared very entertaining. They were able to beat South Korea in the round of 16 and overcame Ghana in the Quarter Finals.
But Uruguay's heroic story had to stop in the semifinals. Facing the Netherlands, Uruguay was unable to match the aggressive game of this European representative.
Goal Rain at Cape Town Stadium
Uruguay vs Netherlands match was colored by a rain of goals. The open match ended with a score of five goals.
The Dutch who appeared to attack were able to take the lead through Giovanni van Bronckhorst's long-range rocket kick in the 18th minute. Diego Forlan finally equalized through an equally beautiful goal in the 41st minute.
In the second half, the Dutch appeared more aggressive. The result they were able to score two goals in just three minutes.
Wesley Sneijder's right-footed strike and Arjen Robben's header ensured the Dutch went 3-1 up. Uruguay was able to reduce the gap with Maximiliano Pereira's goal in injury time.
Sneijder vs Forlan
Not only the team as a whole that fought in the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup, the players also had their own battles. Uruguay vs. Netherlands match became a battleground for the two top scorers of the 2010 World Cup, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan.
At that time Sneijder was superior with a score of four goals while Forlan had only scored three goals. The top scorer until the semifinals is still held by Spanish striker David Villa with five goals.
Forlan who was appointed captain of Uruguay was able to score the first goal in the 41st minute. The goal ensured that Forlan was level with Sneijder and the German striker, Thomas Muller.
But Sneijder did not want to lose, he finally scored in the 70th minute. This goal ensured him one step above Forlan while getting rid of the Uruguayan national team.
Until the end of the tournament, Sneijder and Forlan had to be willing to share a place. They scored five goals at the 2010 World Cup together with two other strikers, David Villa and Thomas Muller.
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World Cup