Uruguay reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1970, beating Ghana 4-2 on penalties yesterday after the last African team in the tournament was denied victory by a handball and a missed penalty in the last seconds of extra time.
The two-time champion Uruguayans advanced to face the Netherlands in the semi-finals after Sebastian Abreu casually chipped the last penalty straight down the middle to secure the win, after a 1-1 draw following 120 minutes of play.
The Netherlands produced a stunning second-half comeback to reach the semi-finals as Brazil’s World Cup imploded in a dramatic game in Port Elizabeth.
After taking an early lead through Robinho’s cool finish, the pre-tournament favourites were pegged back following an awful defensive mix-up early in the second-half and were found wanting in defence again soon afterwards when Wesley Sneijder headed in.
Brazil found themselves in even deeper trouble when Felipe Melo saw red for stamping on Arjen Robben with 17 minutes to go and, although Dunga’s side gave everything in a thrilling finale, they crashed out in the quarter-finals for the second successive tournament.
It is the Netherlands who will go forward to play Uruguay in the semi-finals and they have blown this World Cup wide open.