Luis Suarez came back from injury to haunt England with two goals for Uruguay and leave Roy Hodgson’s men with a mountain to climb.
After Suarez headed his side into a first-half lead, it looked like Wayne Rooney had clawed back a point with his first ever World Cup strike.
But the PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year had the final say, smashing home against the run of play with five minutes remaining to leave England bottom of Group D.
Uruguay 2-1 England
FIFA World Cup 2014
Group D
Arena de Sao Paulo
Thursday 19 June 2014
Both teams suffered defeat in their opening games so knew they needed something from the game.
While Hodgson kept the same starting 11 from the Italy game, only bringing Rooney in from the left to play more central, Oscar Tabarez started Suarez who missed their opener against Costa Rica.
Two early Suarez crosses from the left, as Uruguay enjoyed the early momentum, caused concern at England’s near post, but Joe Hart dealt with both well.
When the Uruguayan’s Liverpool team-mates Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge got on the ball for England in front of the deep-lying South American defence, they forced two dangerous free-kicks.
Danny Welbeck hurdles a Uruguay challenge
The second from Rooney, after Diego Godin had been booked for a handball 20 yards from goal, had keeper Fernando Muslera stranded, but it curled the wrong side of the upright.
Cristian Rodriguez gave Hodgson’s men a scare on 15 minutes, latching on to a loose cross-field pass inside England’s box.
His left-footed drive was good, but just shaved Hart’s crossbar. Edinson Cavani connected first-time with a cross from a corner and saw his first shot of the game also go narrowly over.
Rooney came even closer for England when Gerrard’s whipped free-kick found him at the back post, but he just could not direct the ball down and it cannoned off the woodwork and away from danger.
Suarez, though, made no mistake when he was handed his first chance on 38 minutes. Nicolas Lodeiro beat Gerrard on the half-way line to set Uruguay away into England territory.
Wayne Rooney crashes a header against the crossbar
He passed out to Cavani on the right edge of the box, and the Paris Saint-Germain forward clipped an inch-perfect pass over Phil Jagielka’s head for Suarez to apply the finishing touch.
Sturridge almost responded again straight away, as he did against Italy, but his shot from Rooney’s through-pass was saved well by Muslera at the near post.
Uruguay came out after the break looking for another and Suarez again tried the near-post from a corner, but Hart scrambled across to push out. Cavani also came close, linking up with Suarez into the box, but he drilled wide.
However, when England came to life, they were able to create chances themselves and Rooney was unlucky after he collected Leighton Baines’s cross and his close-range shot was saved by Muslera.
Raheem Sterling chases for the ball with Luis Suarez
The Three Lions were now seeing more of the ball and Hodgson decided it was time for a change, bringing Ross Barkley on for Sterling with just under half an hour left.
They continued to push forward, and attempts from Henderson and Sturridge should have been better but their pressure finally told when Johnson broke into the box down the right and fed a low ball across the face of goal.
Rooney arrived on cue to roll home from four yards and send the travelling England army wild.
It was no more than they deserved, and they almost took the lead moments later when Sturridge turned inside the box before poking towards the corner of the net, but the keeper was across well.
Wayne Rooney slots home England's equaliser
Their hard work would ultimately come to nothing, though, when a long pass forward from Muslera took a flick off Gerrard’s head.
The ball dropped in behind the England backline where Suarez was waiting to pounce and he raced clear before crashing beyond Hart to win it for Uruguay.
With no points on the board, it leaves the Three Lions with an almost impossible task to reach the knockout phase.
Uruguay (4-3-1-2): 1 Fernando Muslera; 22 Martin Caceres, 13 Jose Maria Gimenez, 3 Diego Godin (c), 6 Alvaro Pereira; 20 Alvaro Gonzalez, 17 Egidio Arevalo Rios, 7 Cristian Rodriguez; 14 Nicolas Lodeiro; 21 Edinson Cavani, 9 Luis Suarez.
Substitutes: 11 Cristian Stuani (for Lodeiro) 67, 4 Jorge Fucile (for Gonzalez) 78, 19 Sebastian Coates (for Suarez) 88.
Substitutes not used: 23 Martin Silva, 12 Rodrigo Munoz, 5 Walter Gargano, 15 Diego Perez, 18 Gaston Ramirez, 10 Diego Forlan, 8 Abel Hernandez.
Injured: 2 Diego Lugano.
Suspended: 16 Maximiliano Pereira.
Bookings: Godin.
Goals: Suarez 39, 84.
Head coach: Oscar Tabarez
England (4-2-3-1): 1 Joe Hart; 2 Glen Johnson, 5 Gary Cahill, 6 Phil Jagielka, 3 Leighton Baines; 4 Steven Gerrard (C), 14 Jordan Henderson; 19 Raheem Sterling, 10 Wayne Rooney, 11 Danny Welbeck; 9 Daniel Sturridge.
Substitutes: 21 Ross Barkley (for Sterling) 64, 20 Adam Lallana (for Welbeck) 71, 18 Rickie Lambert (for Henderson) 87.
Substitutes not used: 13 Ben Foster (GK), 22 Fraser Forster (GK), 7 Jack Wilshere, 8 Frank Lampard, 12 Chris Smalling, 16 Phil Jones, 17 James Milner, 23 Luke Shaw.
Injured: 15 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Booking: Gerrard.
Goal: Rooney 75.
Manager: Roy Hodgson.
Attendance: 62,575.
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spa).
Assistants: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (Spa) and Juan Yuste (Spa).
Fourth official: Alireza Faghani (Irn).
