19 June 2014, Arena de São Paulo. Uruguay 2–1 England.
By Hamish McTavish
A Thursday in São Paulo, the new Corinthians bowl, and a side already one defeat into a group of death that had been sold as a test they were ready for. Roy Hodgson, the night before, had said they would like to think that, as a team, they could keep Luis Suárez quiet. He had also said, a few weeks earlier, that Suárez would only be at the Messi–Ronaldo level when he showed it on this particular stage. The stage was this. Suárez had had knee surgery less than a month before. He started. He scored two. He ended on the grass, weeping with joy, while Steven Gerrard stood with his hands on his hips. The Times, in the morning, had England sliding into a World Cup abyss. Ovación, in Montevideo, did not slide. Suárez does not bite them, he swallows them.
They had lost the first one in Manaus, 2–1 to Italy, Mario Balotelli’s header, the heat, the opening night that was supposed to be a statement. That is the certainty they brought to São Paulo anyway: that the group was still alive, that Wayne Rooney would get his first World Cup goal, that Suárez could be handled because they knew him from the Premier League, which is a sentence you only say when you have not watched him in a shirt that is not Liverpool’s. Hodgson would say afterwards that they had controlled him in general play, that they were used to seeing him more active around the box, and that the second was an unfortunate flick from Gerrard. He also said their chances of going on were unbelievably slim, and that he had no intention of resigning. Gerrard said they were clutching at straws. Both men were right before Costa Rica had even kicked off against Italy.
São Paulo in June is a cool night after Manaus, which the English papers treated as a relief. It was not a relief. It was a second chance they had already spent. Group D had been sold as Italy, Uruguay, Costa Rica, a test. After five days it was two losses and a prayer that Italy would beat Costa Rica. Gerrard said they were in the position they had not wanted. He was right before a ball was kicked here. The eve-of-match line about quiet was already a souvenir waiting for a finish.
They kicked off anyway.
Uruguay were the ones with the need. They had lost to Costa Rica. England had lost to Italy. Somebody had to take a point or a win or the group would start closing. For a long stretch it was the kind of game England always call perseverance. Then, before the interval, Suárez got away from Phil Jagielka and headed in the first, a finish that made a mockery of the knee and of the eve-of-match line. One-nil at the break, and the quiet already gone. They did the perseverance thing anyway, because that is the other part they can do. Rooney, on seventy-five minutes, finally had the World Cup goal, his first, 1–1, and the English end made the sound of a group coming back to life. That is the turn, and they do not know it yet. They think they have a draw they can live with, or a win they can chase. They have six minutes of being level with a man who does not miss the next one.
Fernando Muslera punted it. The ball skimmed off Gerrard. Jagielka and Gary Cahill had not dropped. Suárez was through, and anyone who has watched him from twelve yards knows the rest. Eighty-five minutes. Two-one. He went down on the repaired knee and cried. Gerrard, his captain at Liverpool, got the embrace and the brief words and then the look. Two opening losses, the first time they had done that at a World Cup, and the abyss the Times had ready. The next night Costa Rica beat Italy 1–0 and the thing was confirmed. The Herald put They’re coming home on the exit, first time since 1958. The Guardian had Adiós, England. Hodgson’s slim chance had needed Italy to do him a favour. Italy did not.
Suárez had the two and the tears and the answer to the stage question. Rooney had the first World Cup goal and a night that swallowed it. Gerrard had the flick he would see for years. Jagielka had the header he could not live with and the space behind. Hodgson had keep him quiet, the stage, unbelievably slim, and no intention of resigning. He would resign two years later, in Nice, for a smaller country. Edinson Cavani had the running that made the first possible. Muslera had the punt. The Times had the abyss. Ovación had the swallow. The Herald had the song, returned to sender. Costa Rica had the confirmation England had already earned.
They said we can keep Luis quiet. They said this is the stage. They said unbelievably slim. They said they’re coming home. If you still think it was only the flick, a funeral is only a Tuesday. The flick was a header from their captain. The quiet was an eve-of-match. The abyss was two games. They were out before the last group night, and the last group night was a dead rubber they had paid to fly for.
The film is up. FIFA still keep both of Suárez’s, the Rooney goal, the punt. Do not review it. Watch the quiet get swallowed.
https://www.fifa.com/en/watch/lbKjQNKSkWu8gsAXei7wX
Related reading
- We are the lions — Kyiv 2012, Hodgson’s practise night before the São Paulo quiet
- French fried — Al Khor 2022, another World Cup exit sold as living up to expectation
If the nights sit right, the shirts and the wall are at /shop.
FAQ
What was the score when Uruguay beat England at World Cup 2014?
Uruguay 2–1 England, on 19 June 2014 at Arena de São Paulo. Suárez scored both; Rooney equalised with his first World Cup goal.
Why “Keep Luis quiet”?
Hodgson’s eve-of-match line — that as a team they could keep Luis Suárez quiet. Suárez scored twice; the Times called it a World Cup abyss.
Did England go out after this game?
Effectively yes. Two opening losses left them needing favours; Costa Rica beat Italy the next night and confirmed the exit.