Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez led his nation out of the tunnel for the final group game against Ghana at the World Cup on Friday, December 2, 2022.
He provided the two assists that led to Uruguay's goals in a 2 - 0 final score but he appeared unconsolable whenever the cameras captured him after he was substituted.
A sobbing Suarez could have been celebrating his side's first win at the tournament after a draw and loss to South Korea and Portugal respectively.
But the torunament statistics showed that despite being on four points apiece, the South Koreans were ahead of them in terms of goals scored and thus were in a position to qualify ahead of the Uruguayans.
Suarez's first post after the loss said among other things that it was painful to exit the way they did but that he was proud of their outing.
A translation of his tweet reads: "Saying goodbye to a World Cup like that hurts a lot, but we have the peace of mind that we LEAVE EVERYTHING for our country.
"Proud to be URUGUAYAN even though THEY DO NOT RESPECT US. Thanks to each of the Uruguayans who supported us in every part of the world!"
Despedirte así de un Mundial duele mucho, pero tenemos la tranquilidad de que DEJAMOS TODO por nuestro país ????????
— Luis Suárez (@LuisSuarez9) December 2, 2022
Orgulloso de ser URUGUAYO aunque NO NOS RESPETEN ????
Gracias a cada uno de los uruguayos que nos apoyaron en cada parte del mundo! pic.twitter.com/RKHS7kaTiN
Match Report: Uruguay vs. Ghana
The Black Stars of Ghana had one task going into their final Group H fixture at the 2022 World Cup.
Win at all costs, worse case draw against Uruguay and secure passage into the Round-of-16 stage of the competition.
The match was, however, settled with three major incidents in the first half. A penalty miss by Black Stars skipper Andre Dede Ayew, when the score was goalless.
Then Giorgian de Arrascaeta's two goals for Uruguay which came in quick sucession, consigned the Black Stars to a second World Cup defeat against the South Americans who broke hearts of Africans in 2010.
Their 2 - 0 victory over the Black Stars was, however, not enough to get them through to the next round of the tournament as South Korea beat Portugal 2-1.
With Uruguay in dire need of a third goal to progress to the next round of the World Cup, Suarez was reduced to tears as efforts to score another goal proved futile.
