World Cup: Uruguay counting on teamwork

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Uruguay enters Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal with the Netherlands exhausted and shorthanded following its penalty-shootout win over Ghana, a decision that cost them striker Luis Suárez after he was red-carded for his controversial handball in the closing seconds of extra time.

But Coach Óscar Tabárez said his team planned to do more than just show up in Cape Town, South Africa, on Tuesday.

“My players are very united,” he said. “The Netherlands know we are here to fight. We are among the four best teams in the tournament.”

Tabárez will be missing more than just Suarez. Defender Diego Lugano is out with a knee problem, and another backliner, Diego Godín, is questionable. Midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro is out with a fracture in his right foot, and defender Jorge Fucile is unavailable due to a one-match ban.

But Tabárez is counting on team spirit to overcome long odds.

“We go into the next match confident,” he said in a press conference after the dramatic win over Ghana last week. He added that his players “like each other. They are good friends and have been together for four years.

“We have a very strong team.”

-- Kevin Baxter in Durban, South Africa

Photo: Jorge Fucile gestures during the July 2, 2010, World Cup quarterfinal match between Uruguay and Ghana. Fucile is among those who will sit out the semifinal match against the Netherlands on Tuesday. Credit: Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP/Getty Images