Heartbreak for South Korea

The defeat was a crushing blow for 2002 World Cup semi-finalists South Korea, whose players slumped to the ground in devastation after being denied a place in the last eight for the first time on foreign soil.

An early horrendous error by one of the tournament's leakiest defences left the Koreans chasing a game they went on to dominate, with Suarez popping up in clear space to slot the ball into an empty net in the eighth minute.

Edison Cavani neatly curled the ball out wide to Diego Forlan, whose incisive low cross was missed by the keeper and the sleeping Korean defence and reached the unmarked Suarez, who coolly side-footed home to spark ecstatic celebrations.

Image: South Korean players after losing to Uruguay

Korean onslaught

South Korea never gave in and piled on the pressure with a steady stream of dangerous counter-attacks, with Park Ji-sung linking up well with Lee Chung-yong and Park Chu-young, whose free-kick struck the post early on.

The relentless Korean onslaught continued after the interval and they came close through Kim Jae-sung and Park Chu-young as Uruguay rarely threatened and looked to have settled for a slender victory.

South Korea almost levelled close to the hour when Park Ji-sung forced a save from Fernando Muslera, but their pressure paid off in the 68th minute when Lee Chung-yong out-jumped Muslera to head a poorly cleared free-kick into the net.

Image: South Korea's Lee Chung-yong celebrates his goal during the 2010 World Cup second round match against Uruguay in Port Elizabeth