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Matthew Cuchanan
Kasthor
Faungg
In Brazil, Italy beat England 2-1 in the 2104 World Soccer Cup. Mario Balotelli scored the winning goal against England by a header in the second half. Italy used only 3 passes against England during the winning goal. Italy realized England’s defense was spread out and used that to their advantage. Striker, Daniel Sturridge, kicked in a goal two minutes after Claudio Marchisio had put Italy in the lead 1-0 in the first half. It created an exciting first half for all the spectators in the stands. England gave it everything they got by attempting 8 goals shots and strategically putting Raheem Sterling behind Daniel Sturridge during the attacks; however it still was not enough for them to win. Especially after England’s Daniel Sturridge was substituted due to his leg muscle hurting at the second half and Italy’s perseverance created the perfect storm and gave them an opportunity to win. Are we going to see these same defensive strengths and perseverance on Friday’s game against Costa Rica?
Especially since the underdog, Costa Rica proved to be a strong team against the 2010 semifinalist at the 2010 World Cup, Uruguay. Costa Rica shot a total of 4 goal shots and three of them went in by Joel Campbell, Oscar Duarte, and Marcos Urena. They created a great upset during the 2014 World Cup beating Uruguay 3 to 1. Costa Rica played more comfortable and had quality plays against Uruguay’s defenders. Costa Rica strengths during their game were their strategic passing and strong headers against Uruguay’s goal keeper, Fernando Muslera.
The big question is will Costa Rica’s, Oscar Duarte’s strong headers throw off Italy’s defenders; and create another upset by beating them? We will find out on June 20, 2014 (Friday) at 12:00 pm on ESPN
Araceli Mendoza is a writer for CouchRiderReport.net. Follow her on Couch Rider Facebook.
