Luis Suarez leapt to the defence of his Uruguay side after their early exit from the World Cup, which the forward insisted 'hurts a lot' in an emotional Instagram post.

Uruguay failed to qualify from Group H on goals scored after managing only two goals against Ghana, with South Korea beating Portugal to progress to the last 16 instead.

Suarez was visibly upset following the results, and took to social media to thank his nation's fans and insist his side gave it their all in Qatar as he defended his team-mates.

'Saying goodbye to a World Cup hurts a lot, but we have the peace of mind that we LEAVE EVERYTHING for our country' he said.

'Proud to be URUGUAYAN although they DON'T RESPECT US. Thanks to each of the Uruguayans who supported us in every part of the world!'

The claim of a lack of respect comes after Uruguay were denied a late penalty for what looked like a foul on Edinson Cavani in the area.

Tensions boiled over after full time, with several Uruguay players chasing referee Daniel Siebert down the tunnel before Cavani punched and knocked over the VAR monitor.

There were disagreements from Uruguay players when Ghana were awarded a penalty in the first half, with players insisting to Siebert that there was no contact in a supposed foul by Sergio Rochet when the incident was played on the big screen in the ground.

Uruguay raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to a brace from Giorgian de Arrascaeta, but they failed to find a third goal that would have sent them through on goals scored in over 60 minutes of trying.

When South Korea took the lead against Portugal in stoppage time, they overtook Uruguay in the group table and faces began to drop around the Al Janoub Stadium as news of the goal started to spread.

Suarez, who had been substituted, was visibly distressed, and broke down into tears at full time.

Uruguay will now head home, while South Korea will face Brazil in the last 16.