Bryan Ruiz's header at the end of the first half proved to be the winning goal that sealed their place in the knockout stages and in turn knocked England out of the tournament.
Costa Rica created the first opening of the match when Celso Borges headed Christian Bolanos's corner narrowly over the bar.
Following a slow start the Italians began to grow into the match and Thiago Motta had their first chance when the ball broke to him kindly in space outside the box, but he could only fire an effort wide of the target.
Italy had a clear sight of goal on the half-hour mark when Andrea Pirlo's long-ball over the top was taken down by Mario Balotelli, but the striker's attempted chip over the keeper failed to find the target.
The AC Milan striker came close again just moments later when he latched onto Motta's flick, before seeing his powerful effort from the edge of the box beaten away by Keylor Navas.
Costa Rica were still looking to pose a threat and Gianluigi Buffon had to be alert to palm away Bolanos's stinging low drive, before Oscar Duarte headed over from Ruiz's cross.
Moments later Costa Rica felt they should have had a penalty when Joel Campbell was brought down by Giorgio Chiellini inside the box, but the referee waved away their protests.
With a minute of the half left to play Costa Rica took the lead through Ruiz, who met Junior Diaz's cross at the back post to head the ball in off the underside of the bar.
The Azzurri began the second half brightly and Matteo Darmian forced Navas to tip his long-range strike over.
Pirlo was struggling to stamp his usual impact on the game, but came close with a trademark free kick that was beaten away by the keeper.
Lorenzo Insigne should have done better when he was picked out with a pass over the top, but he was unable to direct his volleyed effort on target.
As the game moved into stoppage time Costa Rica almost grabbed a second when Randall Brenes worked himself some space outside the box, before bending an effort over the bar.
It proved to be the final chance of the match, as Costa Rica held on to claim the three points as they secured their place in the last-16, eliminating England in the process.
0 comments:
Post a Comment