Luis Suarez has powered Uruguay to the World Cup despite their qualification struggles, having vowed to take them to Qatar.
The South American nation finished third to qualify automatically after a poor run of results midway through their campaign. Suarez, as he has been for several years, was a leading light in the country's final run of games. He notched three times in their final four games as they picked up a maximum 12 points.
Uruguay's hopes of making the World Cup had looked bleak last year. They picked up one point from a possible 15 as they slid down the qualification pecking order. A draw with Colombia was followed by two defeats to Argentina and reverses at the hands of Brazil and Bolivia - the latter winning 3-0.
Uruguay were sat in seventh, which wouldn't have been good enough for a play-off place. But Suarez remained hopeful of qualification, claiming the team were entering "Suarez zone". The former Liverpool man was involved in a WhatsApp exchange with teammate Martin Rodriguez.
He remained defiant despite the country's struggles as he said: "We have entered Suarez zone." Rodriguez replied saying: "I'm going to save this, and after we qualify I'll make it viral." Suarez was true to his word and his strike in a 1-0 win over Paraguay in January proved to be the catalyst for their improve fortunes.
They followed up that result with a commanding 4-1 win over Venezuela with Suarez again finding the net. A win over Peru was followed by their fourth win on the bounce against Chile. Suarez opened the scoring with 11 minutes left before Federico Valverde made the game safe late on.
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The 35-year-old's efforts have also seen him surpass Lionel Messi as the top scorer in South American World Cup qualifiers. Suarez has now scored 19 times and said on social media: “Special night, special game, special shirt and a goal. What more could I ask for in unique and unforgettable moments for my country?”
Uruguay had made the last three World Cups and will now appear at a fourth successive tournament. They have often performed impressively on the global stage. Back in 2010, which was Suarez's first World Cup, they made the last four after beating South Korea and Ghana.
Suarez's infamous handball denied Ghana a late winner, but whilst he was sent-off the African nation missed the resulting penalty and Uruguay progressed on penalties despite being a man down. In 2018 they beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the last 16 with Edinson Cavani scoring twice before they were knocked out by eventual winners France.
