Suarez thrives under Uruguay pressure, says Tabarez

Luis Suarez delivered an improved performance in firing Uruguay into the World Cup last 16 with the winner against Saudi Arabia, said coach Oscar Tabarez.

Suarez was criticised for what was perceived to be a lacklustre individual display as Uruguay edged to a 1-0 win over Egypt in their first Group A game.

But he scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win on his 100th Uruguay appearance in Rostov, assuring Tabarez’s men of qualification with a game to spare.

“There is always pressure in football; all footballers are under pressure,” Tabarez told a news conference.

“Especially those who, given their style of play, they have to score the goals or create goalscoring opportunities. Of course, we demand a lot more from this type of player. So we can say it is their natural state, that they are always under pressure.

“Then you see fluctuations, ups and downs, they constantly appear in the statistics, when they score a lot of goals – Cristiano Ronaldo for example is riding a very positive wave right now with four goals in two World Cup matches, that is spectacular and impressive.

“Luis played his 100th match with us today and scored the goal to take us to victory. I saw Luis today and I can assure you that I do not give him any gifts when I praise him. I thought he played a lot better today than in the first match, especially when he was fighting hard, he was very fit, very physical, he fought for the ball and he defended and worked in order to regain possession of the ball.

“That’s how he is, he’s like that, very generous and has other very special traits. He is showcasing his traits not only with Uruguay but with all his teams in Europe. He always shows his character, personality, and with an enormous sense of responsibility. He takes on the pressure, takes it on board and lives with it all the time. That is a very distinctive feature of Luis.

“In some matches he might not play extraordinarily well but he has so much potential – he always gives us hope that he will always make an excellent contribution to the team. This has happened here in the national team so many times with Luis and we must recognise that he is a fundamental, crucial player for us. He shows solidarity out on the pitch and has an enormous capacity to score goals.”