Costa Rica continued to upset the pundits 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, dpa reported. 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. The ball bounced off the crossbar and out, but FIFA's goal-line technology confirmed it had crossed the line. Italy, whose performance was well below par compared to their opening 2-1 win against England, now need to either draw or win against Uruguay to avoid going home. Costa Rica, on the other hand, take on England in their final Group D game without too much pressure, having reached the knock-out stafe for the first time for 24 years. Indeed, they may well end up topping the so-called Group of Death with a win or draw on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte. -- SPA 21:52 LOCAL TIME 18:52 GMT تغريد
