Costa Rica and England squared off in a Group D match only to finish in a 0-0 draw. The closest either side went to coring was when Celso Borges hit the cross bar from a free kick, and Daniel Sturridge also had several good chances for England. Costa Rica now advances to the knockout round while England bows out of the tournament finishing in last place in Group D.
England had a few changes in the lineup which included Ben Foster in goal in place of Joe Hart and Seven Gerrard on the bench which allowed Frank Lampart to wear the Captains band one last time which will more than likely be his last World Cup for England. Foster certainly had the game highlight with a save of Celso Borges free kick in the first half as Foster made a sprawling leap to tip the ball onto the crossbar and out. England’s Jack Wilshere had a solid match as it would have been nice to see more of Wilshere during this World Cup.
On the Costa Rica side, star forward Joel Campbell, who has had a very good tournament so far, had a few good chances for Ticos especially in the opening minutes but his shot went just wide. All in all this was a good result for Costa Rica who used this game to rest in many ways as the game never really had the feel of a full paced match as both teams outcomes were already pre-determined before the match began.
Costa Rica ends the tournament Group play finishing in first place with Uruguay also advancing to the next round. Both England and Italy will not have some time to reflect on what went wrong as it was not your expected performance from these top world powerhouses.
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