Suarez's one-man demolition of The Three Lions
Suarez saves his team from elimination, trumps Rooney in a battle of two strikers
GROUP D
URUGUAY 2
(Luis Suarez 39, 85)
ENGLAND 1
(Wayne Rooney 75)
It was a game of two strikers, both with something to prove.
For Wayne Rooney, the challenge was to prove that he was worthy of the central-attacking role he had coveted so desperately.
Luis Suarez, who underwent knee surgery just four weeks ago, simply had to prove that he was fit enough to take to the pitch.
Both passed the test this morning (Singapore time), but to very different degrees.
Rooney played well, far better certainly than he did against Italy last weekend.
He was energetic and driven, his close control was much improved and, when his nation needed him the most, he scored a crucial goal.
Suarez, on the other hand, defied all expectations, offered up a heroic, all-action display, scored two wonderful goals and dragged his country almost single-handedly back into contention for the second phase.
In the battle of the big-name forwards, there will be no need for a points decision.
Suarez is a phenomenon, but then we knew that already.
It is one thing to be fit enough to take to the field, but it is quite another to be fit enough to dominate a game in this fashion.
He had no right to even still be running by the 85th minute, let alone charging in on goal like a runaway rhino, looking up and unleashing a thunderbolt into the back of the net.
Never mind testing him for illegal substances, I'd want to test him simply to make sure that he's human.
Suarez was in tears after the game, on the bench when he was finally withdrawn, and in the tunnel when he spoke to Uruguayan broadcasters.
To fight this long for fitness, to witness the shocking capitulation to Costa Rica and then to hurl himself back into the fray without so much as five minutes to get his touch back, has taken a huge emotional toll.
If the Uruguayan staff have any sense, they'll let him sleep in tomorrow and then wrap him up in cotton wool for the rest of the week.
What can be said of Rooney?
EXPECTATIONS
This was the performance that the England supporters demanded of him, or at least something that approached those expectations, but it was not the end result.
The boy who burst onto the scene in 2004 has been unable to step up as a man in four tournaments and one unsuccessful qualifying campaign since.
As a Manchester United player, he has won everything, several times over in some cases.
As an England forward, the World Cup has been cruel.
He was goalless and sent off in 2006, goalless and frustrated in 2010 and he is close to leaving 2014's tournament with one goal, but without having progressed past the group stages.
He will be 32 when Russia 2018 rolls around. It may be too late for him by then.
There was, of course, far more to this defeat than the performance, or indeed the legacy of Rooney.
England were more culpable at the back than they were profligate at the front.
Rooney had chances, one header bounced off the woodwork, a close-range shot was well saved, but he is not the man to blame.
There is one person responsible for England's defeat.
It isn't Rooney and it isn't Steven Gerrard either. It's not Phil Jagielka and it's not Jordan Henderson. It isn't even the much-maligned Danny Welbeck.
Luis Suarez beat England this morning.
The irrepressible, unstoppable, unforgiving Suarez. He divides opinions, he sparks controversy, he is as hated by some as he is adored by others.
But he is one of the greatest footballers on earth.
And England had no answer to him.
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