Uruguay Coach: I Am Proud, Happy with My Team

"When it comes to looking back, we can say that we were among the four semi-finalists and the other three are powerhouses of Europe," Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said late on Tuesday. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez praised his players, saying their narrow World Cup semi-final defeat makes him proud and happy.

The tiny South American nation, sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina, was defeated late on Tuesday by the Netherlands 3:2 in a dramatic first semi-final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup football tournament in South Africa.

"When it comes to looking back, we can say that we were among the four semi-finalists and the other three are powerhouses of Europe," he said.

"Today we are looking at the team that is in the final and I believe we put this team in difficulty.

"I know football in Uruguay and where it stands on a worldwide level and so I can say I am proud and happy with the performance of my team.

"They managed to play at an equal level with Holland but didn't manage to score the winning goal in the final moments. I couldn't ask for more from these players and nor could Uruguay."

The Ducth lead the game with Van Bronckhorst scoring the first goal in the 18th minute.

Then, Uruguay’s Forland evened the game in the 41st minute.

In the second half-time, the Dutch Sneijder scored the second goal for his team in the 70th minute and three minutes later his teammate Robben scored the third goal.

It was the Netherland's second goal from Wesley Sneijder on 70 minutes that did the damage, and Tabarez complained that it was clearly offside.

"When they scored the first goal, it was one thing and it was clear that the Dutch players were very gifted technically and could create a goal from any situation," he said.

"It was a beautiful goal but unexpected for us.

"Their second goal was decisive but it was offside and the match could have been different. They were then at ease and they made us feel their piece of mind.

"But we never gave up and went on looking for more and Maxi Pereira's goal gave us hope that we could go to the final."

Asked if he was disappointed, Tabarez replied: "If you could chose a way of losing it would look very much like this."

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