Uruguay secured itself a slot in the semi-finals after railroading
Tahiti 8-0 today.
It was the third straight loss for the 2012 OFC Nations Cup winners,
who will go home as the bottom-ranked team in Group B and the entire
competition. Tahiti had previously lost to Nigeria 1-6 and Spain 0-10.
Of Uruguay’s eight goals, four were made by Abel Hernandez. The
22-year-old striker wasted no time as he struck a Nicolas Lodeiro corner within
the first two minutes of the game. Around twenty minutes later, Hernandez got
past Gilbert Meriel’s defense for Uruguay’s second goal, and Diego Perez
chipped in the third goal not long afterwards. By the 45th minute,
Hernandez made Uruguay’s fourth goal.
Lodeiro made a shot at close range within the first 10 minutes of the
second half. At the 67th minute mark, Hernandez took advantage of a
penalty to make his fourth and final goal for the match. Substitute Luis Suarez
rounded up Uruguay’s goals in the 81st and 89th minutes.
For Tahiti, the large gap in experience between them and the other
teams was their undoing. “The hard reality is that there is an abyss between
professional football and our amateurs,” laments Tahiti manager Eddy Etaeta.
“But in spite of the losses and the goals we kept playing fairly and I must
thank my players who were wonderful.”
Uruguay will battle Brazil on June 26 in Belo Horizonte. Should Uruguay
win that match, they will go against either Spain or Italy on June 30 for the
finals.
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