SOUTH AFRICA: SOCCER/FOOTBALL - WORLD CUP 2010: Uruguay and Ghana to battle for spot in final four

Record ID: 453828

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: SOCCER/FOOTBALL - WORLD CUP 2010: Uruguay and Ghana to battle for spot in final four
  • Date: 2nd July 2010
  • Summary: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (JULY 1, 2010) (REUTERS) (NIGHTSHOTS) URUGUAY SQUAD TRAINING AT SOCCER CITY STADIUM PLAYERS JOKING AROUND MEDIA WATCHING URUGUAY COACH OSCAR TABAREZ OBSERVING TRAINING PLAYERS JOGGING STRIKER DIEGO FORLAN DURING TRAINING GOALKEEPER FERNANDO MUSLERA IN TRAINING STRIKER LUIS SUAREZ IN TRAINING STRIKER EDINSON CAVANI IN TRAINING TABAREZ ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA LISTENING TO NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) URUGUAY COACH OSCAR TABAREZ, SAYING: "We have our expectations and know it's going to be very difficult tomorrow and we have no assurances, no guarantees, we are doing our best to be as best prepared tomorrow, things are going well for us, the team is looking good, but we'll have to see what will happen at the match tomorrow at 8:30." JOURNALISTS RAISING DICTAPHONES NEAR SPEAKER (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) URUGUAY COACH OSCAR TABAREZ, SAYING: "As a footballing coach from South America this is a comforting thought, it's no surprise the qualifiers in South America are getting tougher and tougher and the teams that manage to get through have to have good potential, I think this World Cup has served to show this potential of South America football." VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS IN NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 17th July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA33GFWTTN8833JR31Z1RDCTTWG
  • Story Text: Uruguay aim to spoil the party for Africa by standing in Ghana's way for an historic spot in the semi-finals.
    Uruguay and Ghana are set to battle it out for a place in the last four when they clash at Johanneburg's Soccer City stadium on Friday (July 2).
    Both nations have caused a surprise, the South Americans are on the brink of a first semi-final spot since the 1970 World Cup whilst Ghana, in only their second tournament, have already achieved history for their country by getting to the last eight but can become the first African side to reach the last four.
    Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said he expected a tough game against a side who are likely to ride on local South African support.
    "We have our expectations and know it's going to be very difficult tomorrow and we have no assurances, no guarantees, we are doing our best to be as best prepared tomorrow, things are going well for us, the team is looking good, but we'll have to see what will happen at the match tomorrow at 8:30," he said.
    Tabarez said he was not surprised at the strong performances of South American teams at the tournament, with four out of the five teams that qualified making it to the last eight.
    "As a footballing coach from South America this is a comforting thought, it's no surprise the qualifiers in South America are getting tougher and tougher and the teams that manage to get through have to have good potential, I think this World Cup has served to show this potential of South America football," he added.
    Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac said his side needed to attack a tough Uruguayan defence that has only conceded one goal so far at the tournament.
    "For sure, before the start of a game, we try to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents and when it comes to this level of playing teams do not have weaknesses. It all depends on us, of how we are going to start the game, that is very important for us. We have to start the game from the beginning and try to impose our rhythm on the game," he said.
    Ghana go into the game with two players suspended, including the young creative midfielder Dede Ayew. Coach Rajevac said the team also had a number of injury concerns.
    "Of course after the match against America our biggest problem was who would be able to play against Uruguay, we cannot count on two players, Dede Ayew and Jonathan Mensah, they are not going to be able to play tomorrow and then we have four or five players who are injured. Now it's up to the medical team to try to make them fit for tomorrow's match we will see tomorrow who will be the players we'll be counting on and then we will know the formation and composition of the team. It all depends on what the medical team will decide tomorrow," he said.
    Ghana have scored four times at the tournament with striker Asamoah Gyan scoring three of those goals, albeit two of which were penalties.
    "For me, it's a great feeling you know, because we have a big task ahead of us because all the African continent is behind us and the whole of Ghana, so as I said earlier we know how to soak the pressure, I believe in my friends - the Black Stars - I know what they can do, and we know what to do before the game and everybody witnesses that so, although there'll be many people coming to watch this game but there won't be any pressure on us, because as I said earlier, we know how to psyche ourselves before the game, so we are ready to play anybody at all," he said.
    Uruguay won the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and followed that up with success in 1950 but have not been near the dizzy heights of the latter stages at the tournament for four decades.
    Meanwhile Ghana are looking to better the performances of Cameroon in Italia '90 and Senegal in 2002, who both lost after going into extra time of the quarter-finals.
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