Ghana, the only African team left in the competition were finally eliminated by Uruguay in a penalty shootout which finished on 4-2. The match was forced into a penalty shoot out after both teams tied in at 1-1.

Sulley Muntari gave Ghana the lead a few minutes before the first half and Uruguay for the first time in the tournament were forced to play catch up. They came back strong in the second half, when Diego Forlan scored yet again with a superb free kick to even the score at 1-1.

Luis Suarez was in the limelight this time for all the wrong reasons. He received a red card after he threw his left arm up and stopped a header from Dominic Adiyiah which would have resulted in a certain goal.

Ghana Coach Milovan Rajevac was not impressed with Suarez’s deliberate handball. He told reporters “This is a sporting injustice. But I have to congratulate Uruguay for reaching the semi-final because they are the lucky ones.”

Uruguay had a few more chances to score their second goal but they failed to convert. In the 82nd minute of the game, Uruguay’s Maxi Pareira sent a shot high and wide when he could have easily passed the ball to Forlan who would have had no trouble scoring. Forlan was clearly upset, falling to his knees and pounding the pitch in frustration.

With both teams failing to score during extra time, the match was forced into a penalty shoot out and it was the Uruguayans who managed to hold their nerve and book a place in the semi-finals.

When reporters asked Uruguay’s coach Oscar Tabarez about Suarez’s deliberate handball, he said “I think it was instinctive. The player instinctively stopped the ball and was booked with a red card appropriately. He was thrown out and he’ll miss the next match. What else do you want me to do? Had we lost the match, we would be very sad. But we tried to be dignified.”

With Suarez being suspended, a lot will rest on the shoulders of Diego Forlan when they take on the Dutch. He told reporters after the match “It's impressive to be among the top four teams in the world, is something for which I have no words. For each penalty it felt like I would faint. It's amazing. This goes on and now we can rest. Let the people celebrate all they have to celebrate and we will try to be ready for Tuesday.”