Entering play Friday, Uruguay was in a decent spot to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup. They were favorites to beat Ghana in the final day of Group H play. Meanwhile, group leaders Portugal were heavy favorites against South Korea. If both favorites had won, Uruguay would have advanced to likely face South American rival Brazil in the knockout round.
Uruguay held up to their end of that bargain, beating Ghana 2-0. With both games being played simultaneously, each side had someone keeping tabs on the other game. Things were looking good until extra time when South Korea broke their 1-1 tie with Portugal. The news clearly got back to the South American nation as they began pressing offensively. They needed one more goal to advance.
During their own extra time, there was a challenge in the box that left Uruguay players calling for a penalty. It was not to be as the referee disregarded their complaints. The game would end 2-0 with South Korea advancing. Luis Suarez was left in tears on the bench as it played out. But not all Uruguayan players reacted that way to the loss. Some went after the refs.
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Edinson Cavani, Jose Maria Gimenez and a few others were seen grabbing at the refs. One of which had to be held back by his teammates as the referees tried leaving the pitch. One ref actually stopped to hilariously give Cavani a yellow card, as if that does anything at that point.
This likely marks the end of an era for Uruguay at the World Cup. Suarez and Cavani, the faces of the soccer nation, are aging similarly to the Belgian side that was eliminated on Thursday.
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