Uruguay haven't gone beyond the last 16 since the 1970 World Cup, when they reached the semi-finals.

South Korea put in an assured display but a Suarez late strike settled the match into his side's favor. He took his scoring tally to three goals.

Exciting Start

The match witnessed an exciting start, with both sides looking for an early opener.

Park Chu-Young was about to break the deadlock after 5 minutes when his curling free kick was denied by the post.

But it was Suarez who opened the scoring on eight minutes when he capitalized on a blunder from Jung Sung Ryong.

The North Korean keeper failed to intercept a Diego Forlan cross to allow Suarez to score into an empty net from an acute angle.

Two minutes past the half-hour mark, Chu-Young tried his luck from outside the area only to see his delightful effort miss the target by inches.

The Asian side got the upper hand for a while after the break.

Park Ji Sung could have brought the score level but his header was brilliantly saved by Fernando Muslera few minutes from the hour mark.

Lee Chung-Yong headed the leveler in the 68th minute due to a lapse of concentration from the Uruguayan rearguard.

But Suarez regain his side's lead 10 minutes from time when he bamboozled a couple of defenders in the area before releasing a curling drive that hit the post before settling into the net.

Substitute Lee Dong Guk came close to cancelling out Uruguay's slender lead on 87 minutes.

He went one-on-one with Fernando Muslera but his shot squirmed between the keeper's leg before the defenders cleared the ball away.