Coming in to the last round of Group D play, Uruguay and Italy were both in position to advance to the second round of the World Cup with a victory. Italy had the added bonus of being able to advance with only a draw but with their recent emphasis on attack rather than defense, the Italians were not looking to sit back and play for a draw.
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The Italians were ahead on goal difference and they opted to play more cagey first half and Uruguay struggled to create any real chances. They did force Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon to make a few saves but the only incident of note was Mario Balotelli receiving a yellow card and being suspended if the Italians did advance.
The second half continued much the same as the first with Italy being cagey and Uruguay pushing forward with desperation. In the 59th minute the Uruguayans were handed a boost as Claudio Marchisio was sent off with a straight red and a questionable decision. The tackle Marchisio made was not clearly violent and it was harsh on the Italian.
Italy’s 10 men defended bravely until the breakthrough came in the 81st minute but not before a bizarre incident involving Luis Suarez and Giorgio Chiellini. Suarez bit Chiellini the same way he did with Branislav Ivanovic and again the referee did not see the incident and play went on. Just a minute later Diego Godin rose to meet a corner and headed in the far corner past Gigi Buffon to give Uruguay the goal they needed to advance.
The Italians pressed forward to try and equalize but they could not muster any real chances. The final whistle blew and the Italians were shell shocked and Uruguay celebrated their massive accomplishment that unfortunately will be overshadowed by the disgusting behavior of Luis Suarez.
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