As is the way with these things, I made my way to the pub hours before the England kick-off, because I wanted to be sure of a seat and a clear line of sight. However just as I walked in and turned towards the screen, Joel Campbell chested the ball and then tied the game up for Costa Rica against Uruguay. I had just enough time to order my drink when they did it again, this time it was Óscar Duarte (who was starting in place of Johnny Acosta). 2-1 Costa Rica… are you kidding me?
Costa Rica means “Rich Coast”. Just sayin’…
Uruguay badly missed Luis Suárez, who sat to rest from meniscus surgery. Lucky us. Uruguay looked ordinary and their defenders are terrible. Throw in a bone-headed tackle from Maxi Pereira to earn him the red, and Uruguay look like they are in trouble. Costa Rica 3-1 Uruguay
So a couple of bevvies to warm up… and then it was England vs. Italy. It wasn’t at all embarrassing when Ginger Kev and I were so excited by Sterling’s blast into the side netting that he jumped into my arms. But hey, the BBC put up the score at 1-0 so we weren’t the only ones. Then came the Claudio Marchisio goal. Andrea Pirlo’s dummy made me think of when you see a gorgeous girl, and then you find out she has a boyfriend. A boyfriend who is better looking, richer and drives a better car. That kind of vision and nonchalance is evidence of an incredible talent… and so it was 1-nil Italy.
Stevie G in a midfield battle with Serpico
Wayne Rooney was once again a defensive liability, not providing the cover he needed down the left-hand side. Leighton Baines and Glen Johnson were playing up so high, they were effectively wingers… but Matteo Darmian and Giorgio Chiellini (as a make-shift fullback) were giving them headaches. Rooney doesn’t play well with others, but all was almost forgiven on the Daniel Sturridge goal. Raheem Sterling (who had a fantastic game) picked out Wazza’s run, who in turn put a perfect cross through the box for the Liverpool striker to finish off. However, Italy would counter with what was basically a mirror image of the goal (Darmian’s cross in front of the box for Mario Balotelli on the far post)… and that was that. Italy 2-1 England
