MIAMI – Uruguayans in Miami were at a standstill during the FIFA World Cup game against England Thursday afternoon, and many said they expected their team to be defeated. But they won.
Uruguay's elite striker Luis Suárez, who is a forward for Premier League club Liverpool, scored twice to beat England 2-1 Thursday. Despite thunderstorms, a few Uruguayans were at the Parrillada el Gaucho restaurant, 11386 Miramar Parkway, in Miramar, to watch the game.
"We have good players despite the size of our country," said Jose Lodinar in Spanish. "But we played so badly during the first game and it's England -- it's England. No one expected that."
At Dona Paulina, 8263 SW 40th St., in Miami-Dade's Westchester about a dozen fans celebrated their victory with claps, shouts and their traditional "parrillada," a mixture of grilled pork, beef and chicken.
"We lost the first game, so we were expecting a loss," said Diego Desse, who works at Dona Paulina. "We were very surprised. It was unbelievable."
Uruguay lost to Costa Rica 1-3 Saturday when Suarez wasn't in the field. He was recovering from an injury. Wayne Rooney scored England's only goal at the 75th minute.
England has historically been a better team than Costa Rica. And many experts thought Uruguay was out of the World Cup. But Suarez, a father of two who was born in Alto, Uruguay, surprised them all.
"I can't believe we won," said Maria Perez, who works at Los Gauchitos in Miami. "I watched the game at home, and have no idea what to expect on the next game."
Uruguay will play against Italy Tuesday, and Italy will play Costa Rica on Friday in the clash of the World Cup's Group D.