Brazil 2014: Costa Rica gets Surprise 1-0 win over Italy
Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy, 1-0, to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process.
Bryan Ruiz, the Costa Rica captain, gave his side the lead in the 44th minute, heading in off the underside of the crossbar following a cross from Junior Diaz. Goal-line technology was used to show that the ball bounced down and in after hitting the bar.
There was a frenetic end to the first half, as moments before Ruiz’s goal Costa Rica had a penalty appeal waved away when striker Joel Campbell was knocked over by Giorgio Chiellini.
Costa Rica leads Group D with 6 points, while Italy and Uruguay have 3 each before Tuesday’s showdown. England has zero points after losing to Italy and Uruguay. After entering the tournament as an underdog in a group featuring three former world champions, Costa Rica is now on top.
Italy, meanwhile, can still advance with a win or a draw with Uruguay, since it leads on goal difference, which is the first qualifying criteria.
“We gave our all,” Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. “They did well to block every pass. There’s no worry now. We just need to regain our energy.”
Costa Rica’s only other appearance in the knockout phase came in its World Cup debut in 1990, when it beat Sweden and Scotland before getting eliminated by Czechoslovakia. For Italy, it marked the fourth consecutive World Cup in which it failed to win its second match, although only in 2010 did the Azzurri fail to advance.
“We’ll play a great match against Uruguay,” the second-half Italy substitute, Antonio Cassano said. He said he was convinced that if his team regained its energy, it would advance.
