Date: June 20, 2014
Result: Italy 0-1 Costa Rica
Scorer:
- Bryan Ruiz 44
Venue: Arena Pernambuco, Recife
Attendance: 40,285
Match overview: This is the only group stage match at the World Cup where there are no players who finished the season at the Premier League in either squad. Only Brazil (2.20) and Germany (2.02) average more points per game at World Cups than Italy. Costa Rica’s win over Uruguay in their opening match was only their second in their last 8 World Cup matches.
Key moment: The goal from Bryan Ruiz. Costa Rica had every reason to feel aggrieved after being denied what appeared to be a blatant penalty moments earlier, but they responded in the best possible fashion by taking the lead.
Man of the match: Junior Diaz. Created the goal with a wonderful cross and was a valuable outlet for Costa Rica going forward and a solid, dependable presence at the back.
Matter of fact: This is the first time Costa Rica have won their first two matches at the World Cup. Of the three former World Cup winners in Group D, two will be going home early.
Talking point: The win over Uruguay was not a fluke. Costa Rica repeated the trick against even more illustrious opposition in Recife. Compact defensively and with a hint of unpredictability in Joel Campbell going forward, they have been a revelation at Brazil 2014.
Stats:
Goal attempts
- Italy 11
- Costa Rica 10
On target
- Italy 7
- Costa Rica 6
Corners
- Italy 4
- Costa Rica 5
Line-ups:
Italy:
- 01 Buffon
- 07 Abate
- 04 Darmian
- 16 De Rossi
- 15 Barzagli
- 03 Chiellini
- 06 Candreva (Insigne – 57′ )
- 05 Motta (Cassano – 45′ )
- 09 Balotelli
- 21 Pirlo
- 08 Marchisio (Cerci – 69′ )
Costa Rica:
- 01 Navas
- 16 Gamboa
- 15 Díaz Campbell
- 04 Umaña
- 03 Gonzalez
- 06 Duarte
- 10 Ruiz (Brenes – 81′ )
- 05 Borges
- 09 Campbell (Ureña – 74′ )
- 17 Tejeda Valverde (Cubero – 68′)
- 07 Bolaños
Scorers:
Yellow cards:
Italy:
- Balotelli 69
Costa Rica:
- Cubero 71
Referee: Enrique Osses (Chile)
