World Cup 2014: Back Luis to love the spotlight as the Suarez circus rolls on

Luis Suarez - more celebrations to come

Luis Suarez is the star of Uruguay's side - but Ralph Ellis says he's got no shortage of support to back him up and Italy will be the next to find that out...

There are some players who can't cope when events puts them in the glare of the spotlight. And there are some who simply seem to thrive on it. Luis Suarez definitely falls into the second category.

The moment Uruguay were drawn into the same group as England it was almost inevitable that Liverpool's livewire little striker would be the centre of attention. When he got injured a month before the tournament it was all the more certain. Was anybody really surprised that Thursday's clash ended with two chances and two goals?

Since then the Suarez circus has been in full swing. Half a million people got conned by a Facebook status claiming he'd failed a drugs test; Spanish papers have claimed he's told friends he wants to join Barcelona; the same friends say he has a 65million release clause in his contract; the surgeon who sorted out his knee delayed his own cancer treatment to get Uruguay's star striker fit for the World Cup first.

Others would hate all the fuss. But you get the feeling Suarez, who is a staggering 40.039/1 to be the Golden Boot winner, loves being the centre of all the attention and it brings the best out of him where it matters, which is on the field.

That certainly proved to be the case against England, and it's hard to think the same thing won't happen against Italy tomorrow as well.

Uruguay have got to win to go through, and the dazzling feet of Suarez are the biggest reason why they are capable of doing it. At 2.89/5 they are fantastic value to achieve the win they need.

Italy might have kept the ball well for long periods against England, but then who doesn't? They were still struggling for fitness late in that game, and then had their limitations exposed against Costa Rica when they ran out of ideas after going a goal behind.

Our focus on the Uruguay team automatically falls on Suarez. Why wouldn't it? He's the controversial figure who has had endless headlines since he came to play in England. He's been criticised and praised in equal measure, has always seemed to be the story. But that has probably blinded us to how good the rest of Uruguay's team is.

This is a side who are battle hardened. Eight of the players on duty against England last week were in the team which beat Paraguay 3-0 to win the Copa America final three years ago. Eight of them were also in the side which reached the semi-finals in South Africa 12 months earlier.

That tournament background - and the experience of coach Oscar Tabarez who has been in charge since 2006 - means they know how to come through difficult games. When they were on the ropes against England after Wayne Rooney's equaliser Tabarez made good substitutions that turned the tide, while Roy Hodgson chased a game in which he should have settled for a point.

They really are exceptional value at 5.24/1 to reach the quarter-final, because if they dispose of Italy then probable Group C winners Colombia, a side they beat 2-0 in qualifying, should not present too high a hurdle to progress again.

Of course the further they go, the more pressure there will be on Suarez as their talisman to deliver the match winning performance. But the more that's heaped on him, the more likely he is to deliver.