Day 13 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup was witness to the elimination of Italy, Biting by Luis Suarez, Mistakes by Ivory Coast, and a goodbye from England.
Tuesday’s games started with group D, Costa Rica v England and Italy v Uruguay. Costa Rica looked to finish the group with 9 points while Italy and Uruguay faced off in a must win game. Costa Rica ended level with England leaving both teams with one point which solidified Costa Rica’s place with 7 points. Italy started off slow against Uruguay as their opponents looked for goals but were missing the spark to put them over. It wasn’t until the second half that a goal would appear for Uruguay half an hour after Italy was left with 10 men after a straight red card to Claudio Marchisio in the 59′. At 81′ Diego Godin headed a ball after a perfect corner kick into the box right past Italy’s Buffon to give Uruguay the only goal of the game and assuring them a place in the final 16. It was also in the second half when Suarez would bite a player on field for at least the second time in his career. He was seen doing the action in England with his team Liverpool but did it again today against the Italians, however the ref failed to notice.
The second round of games were in Group C with Ivory Coast v Greece, Colombia v Japan. Ivory Coast needed only a draw to make it through the round of 16 along with Colombia but a loss would see Greece join Los Cafeteros. Greece struck first to the surprise of Ivory Coast who were favored to win and they weren’t able to draw until the 74′. The game was even as both teams went into attack but failed either by kicking the ball into the stands or simply losing control of the ball. Ivory Coast seemed destined to progress but a late foul in the box gave Greece a penalty that was nothing short of embarrassing for Ivory Coast in the 90+3′. Greece scored the penalty and gave them the needed win to put them through with Colombia who easily defeated Japan 4-1.
Tomorrow’s Games:
Nigeria v Argentina, Bosnia v Iran @Noon
Honduras v Switzerland, Ecuador v France @4PM