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On a bright and sunny day inside the Arena Pernambuco, Italy were not alone in looking to strengthen their case for a spot in the last 16. The Azzuri found themselves staunch allies from far ashore, millions of Englishmen were praying for their victory too. But none of that mattered, as Costa Rica, brimming with belief, played resolute football to hand Italy a stinging 1-0 defeat. Their victory also snapped the slender thread of hope that England was clinging to, even as they clasped hands to pray that Italy could win tonight.
Costa Rica had already caused a sensation when they outplayed Uruguay 3-1 in their first outing. Their legend assumed gigantic proportions today when they played a brilliant tactical game to neutralize both Andrea Pirlo and Mario Balotelli to clinch an astonishing upset over the 2006 champions.
Playing tight knit football, Costa Rica locked out Italy with the help of some solid defense by its well-organized back line. Their marking was brilliant and disciplined, denying the Italians any opportunity to flirt with the goal. It was an intelligent effort, emphasized by the fact that the Italians were flagged offside no less than eleven times during the match.
Costa Rica were denied a clear penalty in the 42nd minute, but they remained composed, despite the referee turning down their fervent appeal for one. On the attack again, their captain Bryan Ruiz met a lovely cross from the left with his head to put Costa Rica in front, just before half time. And that is how it would remain to the end of this sensational upset.
Italy were lead to a brilliant 2-1 victory over England, by some mind numbing Wizardry and great opportunism. But if they expected the Costa Ricans to step aside and make way for them to steal the show, the Italians were in for a rude awakening.
The Central Americans proved their first game was no fluke, playing like a tight knit unit from the moment it started. The Ticos were organized in defense, so confident too, that they were willing to play a high line to repeatedly leave the Italians offside.
It was very hot in Recife, so it was not really surprising to see the two teams play a patient game. Some of the Italians had complained of hallucinations after their strain in Manaus against England. The weather wasn’t any better for this encounter, with heat and humidity a huge factor soon as the game began.
There wasn’t really too much between the two teams during the early stages of the first half. Costa Rica did seem the better unit on set pieces, but there was real threat for either goalkeeper. The first test of the game came exactly on the half hour mark.
Ignazio Abate passed back to Andrea Pirlo, who sailed a long ball from inside his own half to find Mario Balotelli just outside the box. Balotelli had the goal at his mercy, with only Kaylor Navas to beat and somehow he found a way to knock the ball out and squander the opportunity.
The pace of the game underwent a visible change from there, as both sides started to make a real push for the first goal. In the 42nd minute, Joel Campbell, the hero of Costa Rica’s first game, pushed hard to get within striking distance of the goal. A desperate Andrea Barzagli clearly fouled Campbell from behind, but the umpire decided to play an Ostrich just at the very moment.
But the Ticos weren’t to be denied any longer. Junior Diaz was afforded freedom on the left and he hoisted a cross to the far post, where Bryan Ruiz lifted himself to head the first goal of the match. It was a brilliant effort, moments after that deflating gaffe by Enrique Osses, the Chilean referee who denied the Ticos a clear penalty.
When they came back out, Italy rang in the changes as they sought to press forward to try and break the Costa Rican defenses. But Yeltsin Tejeda worked tirelessly to mark Pirlo, to nearly neutralize the masterful Italian. And a frustrated Balotelli was shown the yellow card for recklessly bringing down Jose Miguel Cubero, to underline Italy’s growing nervousness.
The clock was ticking away and despite sustained efforts by the Italians, there wasn’t much they could do to break past the resolute Tico back line. And when they did like Alessio Cerci in the 87th and Antonio Cassano in the 90th they made a meal of the opportunity.
There were four minutes added to offer Italy a last breath to try and salvage a draw, but it was Randall Brenes who came close to scoring. A pungent left footer curled inches wide of the far post, but that was only to deny an icing on this astonishing victory for the underdogs.
Italy have everything to do now, when they face Uruguay on Tuesday. That match is essentially a straight fight for a place in the second round. The loss also denies Balotelli an opportunity to snag a kiss from the Queen, rendering the match between Costa Rica and England into a mere formality. Italy need a draw or victory to gain passage and Uruguay just needs to defeat Italy to get through to the round of 16.
Costa Rica is through to the second round, for the first time in 24 years of World Cup football. The sensational victories – two straight over teams ranked in the top ten – and their passage to the knock out phase of the event are certain to turn this team into legends around San Jose and beyond.
Score:
Italy 0 Costa Rica 1 (Bryan Ruiz 44’)
Italy Starting XI: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 7-Ignazio Abate, 4-Matteo Darmian, 15-Andrea Barzagli, 3-Giorgio Chiellini; 5-Thiago Motta, 16-Daniele De Rossi, 6-Antonio Candreva, 21-Andrea Pirlo, 8-Claudio Marchisio; 9-Mario Balotelli.
Subs 2-Mattia De Sciglio, 10-Antonio Cassano, 11-Alessio Cerci, 12-Salvatore Sirigu, 13-Mattia Perin, 14-Alberto Aquilani, 17-Ciro Immobile, 18-Marco Parolo, 19-Leonardo Bonucci, 20-Gabriel Paletta, 22-Lorenzo Insigne, 23-Marco Verratti
Costa Rica Starting XI: 1-Keylor Navas; 16-Cristian Gamboa, 3-Giancarlo Gonzalez, 4-Michael Umana, 7-Christian Bolanos, 6-Oscar Duarte, 17-Yeltsin Tejeda, 15-Junior Diaz; 5-Celso Borges, 10-Bryan Ruiz; 9-Joel Campbell
Subs 2-Johnny Acosta, 8-Dave Myrie, 11-Michael Barrantes, 12-Waylon Francis, 13-Oscar Esteban Granados, 14-Randall Brenes, 18-Patrick Pemberton, 19-Roy Miller, 20-Diego Calvo, 21-Marco Urena, 22-Jose Miguel Cubero, 23-Daniel Cambronero
