The Uruguay defender says his club and international colleague is the game’s greatest player right now, and has hailed his impact in the 2-1 win against England

By Kris Voakes in Sao Paulo

Sebastian Coates has hailed Luis Suarez as the best player in the world and says the striker made all the difference as Uruguay overcame an opening defeat against Costa Rica to beat England on Thursday.

Suarez missed the 3-1 defeat in Fortaleza as he recovered from a knee injury which had kept him out of action for five weeks, but returned to score both goals in the 2-1 win in Sao Paulo which gives them a great chance of qualifying for the knockout stage.

“It’s true. He is an amazing player. For us, he is very important,” the Liverpool defender told reporters after the game.

“In the first game, we missed Luis, but he showed today how important he is.”

Suarez had been pictured in a wheelchair just a few weeks ago, only to make a remarkable recovery, and Coates was quick to pay tribute to the staff who had helped his star team-mate get back on his feet so speedily.

“The physio, Walter Ferreira, is a very good physio. He said to Luis that with some work, he would be playing against England. For us, I say it is very important to have Luis on the pitch. He showed today he is the best.

“I think he is the best in the world. Luis and Edinson Cavani are two of the best players in this moment.”

Coates was among a number of players celebrating fervently at the full-time whistle, and he puts that togetherness of spirit down to a desire to treat the match as a one-off.

“For us it was a final. If we lost we would have had to go back to Uruguay. In a final, you celebrate with your partners, your family and the people of Uruguay, so it was amazing.

“But we must beat Italy to pass from the group.”

Uruguay face the Italians in Natal on Tuesday knowing only a victory will guarantee their passage from Group D, although a draw may still see them through depending on the result of the simultaneous clash between Costa Rica and England.

The Uruguay striker – who scored his country’s second goal in the 2-1 win over the Three Lions – says his club-mate is “one of the best” despite his late error in Brazil

Luis Suarez has expressed his sympathy for Steven Gerrard after scoring two goals to consign England to a 2-1 defeat on Thursday.

The Liverpool striker nodded home an Edinson Cavani cross in the first half before capitalising on an error from Gerrard to net an 88th minute-winner – despite undergoing keyhole surgery on his knee a matter of weeks ago.

Wayne Rooney’s first ever World Cup goal afforded England a glimmer of hope in the second half but the joy was short-lived, with Gerrard cutting a forlorn figure as he trudged off the pitch at full-time.

And Suarez admits he did not like seeing his club-mate so upset, having been comforted by the England captain after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

“He’s the best player I’ve played with on the pitch,” Suarez said.

“This is an unlucky moment for him. I don’t like it when he hurts like this. I said ‘Keep going, forget this game, you’re one of the best’.”

COMMENT: The two youngsters provided a glimmer of hope while the Liverpool man, Wayne Rooney and Roy Hodgson’s abilities to lead are under scrutiny after a second defeat

By Alex Young

England are on the brink. For the first time in World Cup history, the inventors of the game remain pointless following their opening two games. They face an embarrassing early exit that’s not been seen since 1982.

All is not lost though. Two wins for Italy and a commanding victory over Costa Rica will see England sneak into the knockout stage – but what lessons can be learned from a Luis Suarez-inspired defeat to Uruguay?

Goal examines the lay of the land ahead of a nervy five days for everyone in England’s camp…

ENGLAND’S NEW WAVE OF TALENT

Despite all the doom and gloom, the emerging talents of Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley give the country hope of a brighter future.

The Liverpool winger was a surprise starting selection against Italy and outshone everyone else in an England shirt. His quick-thinking and even quicker feet were a handful for the Azzurri defence and similarly troubled Uruguay on Thursday before he began to lose steam on the hour mark.

His replacement in Sao Paulo sparked England’s mini-revival as Barkley showed invention and verve devoid from Steven Gerrard and the other supposed wiser heads in the squad.

Much has been spoken about how England must be built around the likes of Gerrard, Rooney and the ‘Old Guard’ but the lack of ideas and inability to adapt among the invention and excitement of the youthful Merseyside duo was as damning as it was depressing.

Roy Hodgson should be congratulated on giving youth a chance on the biggest stage – indeed, he gave Sterling his England debut when the 19-year-old had less than 10 first-team appearances to his name – but he must now go one step further and build his team around these talented players.

WAYNE ROONEYAll the talk after the loss to Italy was centred on the frustrated figure of Rooney in Manaus. He was positioned on the left of an attacking midfield three and lacked the guile to make a telling contribution – other than in his assist for Daniel Sturridge’s equaliser.

Roy Hodgson altered matters and gave him the No.10 spot he craved and Rooney did, after over 750 minutes of action, score his first World Cup goal.

Rooney has been mismanaged and suffered because of it. As we’ve seen before, this was a player who was determined to prove himself at the highest level, and after a night of frustration against Italy he tried to make amends – then did the exact opposite.

His creative stats from six days ago all fell when he faced Uruguay. Despite holding a more central position he created just two chances for his team-mates – compared to three (and one assist) against Italy – while his passing accuracy decreased from 87.88 per cent to 71.43% overall and from 81.82% to a woeful 57.89% in the final third.

Despite trying to increase his influence in the game, Hodgson in fact reduced it and, whether you point the finger at the manager or the player, it was detrimental to England.

PLAYER RATING:

STEVEN GERRARD

On the face of it, Steven Gerrard made mistakes in the build-up to both of Suarez’s goals. He made a half-hearted tackle in the centre of the pitch as Uruguay countered up the field and his Liverpool team-mate headed the ball past Joe Hart.

With England requiring a leader as Uruguay piled on the pressure in search for a winner, Gerrard struggled against Edinson Cavani before nodding on Fernando Muslera’s hopeful punt forward to allow Suarez to notch his second goal of the game and leave the Three Lions on the brink.

But it would be unfair to hinge Gerrard’s tournament on two individual moments. While he was also bossed by Andrea Pirlo in Manaus, Gerrard was not given the required assets needed to take on the world’s best.

Italy fielded five in midfield against England and Uruguay followed suit by playing a diamond of four around the isolated Gerrard and Jordan Henderson.

With elimination looking likely, Gerrard is likely to bow out of the international stage off the back of a season with Liverpool which offered so much but, ultimately, hinged on a mistake.

PLAYER RATING:

ROY HODGSON

In the immediate aftermath of Thursday’s loss, Hodgson was faced with questions regarding his future. After all, as detailed above, this is the worst start England have suffered at a World Cup ever and they now face a first first-round exit in 32 years.

Gerrard dismissed talk of Hodgson not being the right man to lead his country when speaking to reporters after the game and the man himself insisted he had “no intention to resign”.

“I’m bitterly disappointed, of course, but I don’t feel I need to resign,” he said. “On the other hand… if the FA think I’m not the right man to do the job, that will be their decision, and not mine.”

At the risk of a knee-jerk reaction, with progression still possible after all, Hodgson was evidently beaten tactically by both Cesare Prandelli and Oscar Tabarez, predominately in midfield.

His handling of Rooney’s role was also misguided. After testing Rooney on the left with little success in warm-up matches, he re-jigged his approach to further damage his midfield threat in Sao Paulo before eradicating England’s width late on by bringing on three players who prefer the No.10 role in Barkley, Adam Lallana and Rooney.

An unlikely progression to the knockout stages would ultimately prove to be Hodgson’s saving grace, but with only tougher tests to come, the 66-year-old may already have been found out one too many times.

THE SUPPORTERS

In the first edition of this series, I put the England fans as one of my ‘winners’. The performance, albeit in defeat, against Italy was one of promise and excitement. They had spent untold amounts travelling to Brazil but their enthusiasm was heightened.

Five days later and everything has changed. They’ve spent untold amounts travelling to Brazil and have had their dreams crushed.

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