Final Scoreline for Match 37:
COSTA RICA - 0
ENGLAND - 0
As many as NINE changes in the England squad for this game, but none of them could find a single goal among them in the 90 minutes of match time. England had many chances of going ahead, but squandered them. Costa Rica on the other hand were happy enough to play out the draw. Having already qualified for the next round, all they needed was a point out of the game, really.
England were already out of the WC, and tonight they pack their bags. Costa Rica move into the Round of 16 as Group Winners, and deservedly so.
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Final Scoreline for Match 38:
ITALY - 0
URUGUAY - 1
(Godin 81')
What an ill-tempered and controversial match this ended up being. Italy needed a draw and a point to move ahead, while Uruguay needed to win.
Seemed like the Italian coach had drilled the draw into his players' heads so badly that they did everything in their power to ensure the draw - defiantly defensive, fouls galore, kicks, slaps, elbows, shoulders, literally everything rained on the Uruguayans to keep them away from the Italian goal. The normally lightning-fast Balotelli was also very subdued, and a grossly unfair head-hit went unpunished as he got only a yellow card for it. Pirlo took a moment of the referee's concentration lapse in reverse-"slap"ping Luis Suarez which left the young talent literally stunned for a few minutes. Suarez was so frustrated that he went to headbutt a defender, and might have got his teeth involved as well. He was very, very lucky to escape that incident, because the referee didn't see it.
Anyway, Italy paid dearly for this very defiant foul-riddled defensive play, when Marchisio was red-carded for a horrible tackle in the 2nd half. Italy went down to 10 men, and as if that spurred Uruguay on, they started pressing forward and Godin headed in THE goal of his career in the 81st minute to give Uruguay the much-needed lead, and the eventual win.
Wrong tactics by the Azurri cost them the tournament. They should have gone for a win instead of being uber-defensive. As things stood in the end, Uruguay enter the Round of 16, breathing a huge sigh of relief, while Italy, angry and defiant at many decisions of the referee while being guilty of quite a few unpunished fouls themselves, will be packing their bags to catch a flight home.