Arrivederci, Azzurri – giants continue to fall in a surprise-filled tournament as the Italians are eliminated for a second consecutive FIFA World Cup, a 1-0 loss to Uruguay sealing their fate.
The Italians needed just one point to advance into the next round but with a 3-5-2 formation, Italy manager Cesare Prandelli wasn’t content with just the draw, trying to get a positive result to top Group D. But Uruguay put up a staunch resistance, keeping the game level until the 82nd minute, where Diego Godin managed to tap in a goal to secure all three points.
With the win, Uruguay advances out of Group D alongside underdogs Costa Rica, while both Italy and England head home with their tails between their legs. Italy never really looked threatening, with target-man Mario Balotelli becoming flustered in the first half and being taken off in the second.
But it was the red card given to Claudio Marchisio for what looked like a yellow-card offense that flipped the game on its head and gave Uruguay the momentum it needed to find a game-winning goal.
That goal came moments after a moment of drama by Luis Suarez. The notorious Liverpool striker looked like he had dug his teeth into the shoulder of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. The Suarez bite isn’t the first incident of its nature, both at the World Cup and in the action itself. Suarez was involved in another biting incident when Liverpool took on Chelsea in the Premier League.
In that game, Suarez attempted to get past Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic but instead took a chomp at Ivanovic’s arm. In the last World Cup, Suarez was also involved in a bit of controversy when he handballed a shot off the line in the dying minutes of a match.
Now, calls for Suarez to be banned from participating in the rest of the 2014 FIFA World Cup will begin to ring, and whether FIFA takes retroactive action and suspends the Uruguayan forward remains to be seen. However, it would not be surprising if Suarez was issued a one-game ban at minimum for the incident.
In either case, Italy will want for more as they fail to qualify for the knockout round once again and head back home having failed to capture a fifth World Cup title. Antonio Cassano, Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon have likely played their last World Cup game, spoiled in the end by Uruguay.
It has been an unpredictable, ever-exciting World Cup, folks. The drama continues to mount in Brazil!
