Italy takes on Costa Rica with one eye on the Round of 16 today. While both teams will care little about this fact, they do hold England's fate in their hands. If they draw against Italy or beat the 2006 champions, they will eliminate England from the tournament. If Italy win, England will hold on with their fingertips. In the light of the England-Uruguay result, the build up to this match has become very interesting.
The match itself, outside of the permutations for the group, might not be too interesting though. The fact that Italy likes to play defensively is no secret. They are perhaps going to line up in the same manner in which they did against England. However, England attacked them from the first whistle; Costa Rica will not do so. Costa Rica will sit back, absorb the pressure and try to hit Italy on the break as they did against Uruguay.
This might lead to a rather long and drawn out affair in which both sides sit back. This might force one side to open up and attack. Both sides will be happy to settle for a draw. In light of the gulf in talent between these two sides though, Italy should win this one. When they attacked England, they looked irrestitible at times. This was down to how many times Leighton Baines was left alone to defend against Antonio Candreva of course.
Italy might start to attack from the first minute too in order to wrap this match up before they play Uruguay. Once they do score a goal, they might decide to revert back to old habits and defend. Whether Costa Rica will be able to break them down is questionable simply because Italy are just very good at defending a lead. If Costa Rica decide to attack and do indeed score a goal, they might force Italy to open up. The possibility of Costa Rica scoring is not too low considering Joel Campbell's form at the moment.
Can Italy secure a win which will save England from immediate elimination? Or will Costa Rica secure a very unlikely result and send England packing?
Team Sheets:
Italy's First XI: Buffon (c), Chiellini, Darmian, Motta, Candreva, Abate, Marchisio, Balotelli, Barzagli, De Rossi, Pirlo
Costa Rica's First XI: Navas, Gonzalez, Umana, Borges, Duarte, Bolanos, Campbell, Ruiz (c), Diaz, Gamboa, Tejeda
For the complete TV listings and live scores upon kick-off, visit the Italy-Costa Rica match page.
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