In what is easily the biggest surprise of the 2014 World Cup so far, the tiny Central American nation of Costa Rica has defeated mighty Italy 1-0, and will advance to the round of 16 for the first time.
By beating both Italy and Uruguay, Costa Rica not only guaranteed its place in the knockout stage -- it killed any chance that England, its next opponents, will qualify from Group D. England have not failed to advance from the group stage of the World Cup since 1958.
England, twice defeated in the group so far, needed Italy to beat both Costa Rica and Uruguay, and then needed to beat Costa Rica by a margin of two goals. But based on the stunning performance Friday at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Costa Rica now seem odd-on favorites to beat England and advance from the group in first place with 9 points.
English fans tweeted their shocked reactions:
Suarez basically put England on life support last night and Costa Rica just turned the power off
— ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) (@ThatBoyDarryl) June 20, 2014
Knowing us, we will thrash Costa Rica and it won't mean a thing. So gutted :( #england #worldcup2014
— Cliff Lynch (@CliffClifflynch) June 20, 2014
THANK YOU Costa Rica for putting us out of our misery as early as possible. A humane killing.
— Dan Cooper (@MrDanCooper) June 20, 2014
Such an outcome was unthinkable when the World Cup began. Costa Rica, known as the Ticos, put in a solid performance during the qualifying stages, beating the U.S. team 3-1 -- but when they were placed in a group with three former World Cup winners, few seasoned World Cup observers gave the team a second look.
Costa Rica became the first team to defeat two former champions in a row at the group stage of the World Cup -- and despite the 1-0 scoreline, they easily outclassed Italy at every part of the pitch. Not once did the European side look like a real threat.
Now Uruguay and Italy will have to battle it out for what will probably be second place in the group -- an astonishing turn of events. Italy needs to win or draw to advance; Uruguay, led by super striker Luis Suarez, needs to win.