Costa Rica battles Greece on Monday in what should be a fantastic clash between two teams that have never met in World Cup action prior. Nobody expected these two teams to make it this far into the knockout round but both sides have proven they are worthy opponents. Costa Rica finished in first place in their Group D bracket eliminating the likes of Italy and England and join Uruguay as second round qualifiers.
Costa Rica is led by star forward Joel Campell, who plays for Arsenal. Campbell will be familiar with a few players on the opposing side as Campbell has been on loan to Olympiakos in Greece this past year.
Many players and coaches from Costa Rica feel that the weather conditions in Brazil match the weather in Costa Rica and that it will be a major advantage for the club. Costa Rica’s captain, Bryan Ruiz, who plays for Fulham in England, commented “the climactic conditions give us an advantage, in Costa Rica we are used to the humidity.”
Costa Rica Head coach Jorge Luis Pinto is not expected to make may changes in the starting line-up as his side has played well throughout the tournament.
Greece on the other hand could not have qualified in a more timely manner as Forward Giorgos Samaras, who plays for the Celtic Rangers, slotted home a penalty kick in the waning minutes of its final group match. The heralded kick for Greece moved them into the second round of play with. Greece is expected to start both its power forwards Samaras and Chiristodoulopoulos as they will be supported by speedy winger Dimiris Salpingidis.
The game is set to kick off at 4:00PM EST at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife. It can be seen on ESPN and in Spanish on Univision. If you want to live stream the match, simply go to WatchESPN here and here for a live stream in Spanish.
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