'Suarez is an elite player'
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez hailed Luis Suarez as an 'elite player' after the Liverpool forward fired his country into the Copa America final with a brace in Tuesday's 2-0 win over Peru.
The Reds striker netted the opener when he coolly shot home after Diego Forlan's speculative strike was parried into his path on 52 minutes.
And the frontman sealed the triumph just five minutes later when he raced through, rounded the 'keeper and rolled the ball into an empty net.
It left Tabarez in no doubt that the Reds frontman is one of the most lethal finishers on the planet.
"He (Suarez) is an elite player in world football," Tabarez said.
"We talked about having more presence up top. That is how we got the first goal. (Diego) Forlan and Suarez appeared. After that, Peru kept attacking, but we had it under control."
"This rival was as difficult as we thought they would be. We had an experience with them in the first game."
"Our worry was (Paolo) Guerrero and (Juan Manual) Vargas. They are determined, but I think we controlled the game."
Suarez's double saw him go joint-top of the Copa goal charts with three so far.
The 24-year-old was delighted to help fire his country into their first final since 1999 and is hopeful they can now go on and clinch a record 15th title.
"It's really nice. Now we have to enjoy, celebrate and focus on the objective, which is the final," Suarez said.
"I think we knew Argentina were going to attack us (in the last round). But today, we had to come out, play and attack."
"In the second half, we were convincing in the beginning, and that gave us the win."
Uruguay will face Venezuela or Paraguay in Sunday's final.
