Suarez has 'barbarian' desire to beat England

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Suarez has 'barbarian' desire to beat England

DANIEL GARCIA / AFP

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez said Tuesday he has a "barbarian" desire to beat England in their World Cup clash this week.

The Liverpool striker, who missed his country's shock 3-1 Group D defeat to Costa Rica, also appealed Uruguayan fans to have trust even though there is no word yet whether he will play in Thursday's game.

"I have a barbarian desire to help my team-mates, to be able to go onto the pitch," Suarez told Ovacion Digital.

Missing the first game "left me with savage impotence," the Premier League goalscoring machine added.

Suarez had surgery on a knee meniscus three weeks ago and he said there would have been a "great risk" if he played in Friday's game.

"But now several more days of rehabilitation have passed and I'm better." Suarez insisted he was ready to play if needed.

"I'm 100 percent, if it wasn't the case, I wouldn't play. I always said I'd come back once I felt fine, once I was at 100 percent, and now I am.

"Maybe I'm lacking some football, or rhythm, that's obvious because I've been inactive, but physically I'm in great shape."

Suarez also released a Twitter message to fans in which he said the team was determined to reach the next round, at England's expense.

England lost their first game to Italy and are also desperate to win to get back into the qualification race.

"There have been some difficult days since the loss to Costa Rica. Wanted to thank your for the support given to us," Suarez said.

"Stay calm. We are going to give our best in the match against England. Trust us, we want to progress, we are the best," declared Suarez.

There was considerable doom and gloom around the Uruguay camp after the defeat to Costa Rica.

"What happened the other day was a defeat that hurt but it hasn't deflated us," said Suarez.

"We need to show our character, our spirit to tackle these next two games which we need to progress." Uruguay play Italy in their final game.

He admitted that Uruguay lacked character when they went a goal down to the Central American minnows.

"We didn't manage to get over the second goal, it drained us and set them free, they were different (after).

"But now we have a great chance for revenge on Thursday.

"It won't be easy, England have great players, those who can make a difference. They're a very strong team but like all teams they have strengths and weaknesses.

"What we have to do is exploit their defensive weaknesses and try to concentrate and be careful in our area."

Defeat for Uruguay or England would almost certainly mean elimination from the World Cup, and Suarez said this will play on players' minds.

"We both know what type of game we're going to play. There's no margin for error, we know we're on the limit, on the brink of elimination. That way we all know what we're playing for."

Suarez said he will put to one side personal relationships with his club team-mates at Liverpool, such as captain Steven Gerrard.

"He'll give his best for his team and me for mine. We both know it's like this and this is the way it should be.

"Afterwards, away from the pitch, it's a different story."

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-06-18

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