Match 24: Ole! Los ticos ; Italy lost Against Costa Rica (1-0)

Bryan Ruiz with his strike against Italy ensured his team's progress to the next stage and at the same time condemned England to the sidelines

Defeat leaves four-time champion Italy with a tough task against Uruguay

Costa Rica continued to upset the pundits’ predictions with a 1-0 defeat of Italy on Friday to secure qualification for the Round of 16 and condemn England to an early exit from the World Cup.

The game in Recife was decided by captain Bryan Ruiz, who headed in a wonderful Junior Diaz cross from the left to beat Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon in the dying minutes of the first half.

Italy now needs to avoid defeat against Uruguay to avoid going home.

Costa Rica, on the other hand, takes on England in its final Group D game without too much pressure. Indeed, it may well end up topping the so-called Group of Death with a win on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte.

“We’ll let the world know that we are here,” defender Giancarlo Gonzalez had said on the eve of Friday’s match. And the Latin Americans certainly showed no deference towards the four-time world champions at the Arena Pernambuco stadium.

Italy, for its part, was going for a win knowing that its final game against Uruguay could be no easy matter after the return of Luis Suarez, the England slayer.

Perhaps wary of the heat, the game was played amid temperatures of 29 degrees and 70 per cent humidity, and with only the occasional cloud providing partial relief, both sides had a slow start to the game.

Italy’s strategy during the first half appeared to consist mostly of retaining possession and then trying to surprise the opposition with deep balls to Mario Balotelli, the lone striker.

Costa Rica was content to sit back and try the occasional sting with Arsenal striker Joel Campbell. For the first 30 minutes, the game was evenly matched, with just a Celso Borges header drifting over the crossbar in the 7th minute and Thiago Motta firing the ball wide for Italy in the 27th.

Amid scorching temperatures, the players rushed to the sidelines to refresh themselves at the first opportunity. And it was perhaps not a coincidence that Italy suddenly came alive soon after the brief water break.

A delightful ball from Andrea Pirlo left Balotelli alone in front of goal, but the AC Milan striker sent his lobbed ball well wide. Two minutes later, Balotelli had another good opportunity but blasted the ball against keeper Keylor Navas.

Italy was upping the tempo but it was Costa Rica which scored a sensational opener as Ruiz headed home from Diaz’s superb left-wing cross.