This post will be updated as Group D progresses.<\/p>\n
Group D Preview (Costa Rica, England, Italy, Uruguay)<\/strong> 6\/14, 3:00 – Costa Rica vs. Uruguay<\/strong> Costa Rica 3 – Uruguay 1 6\/14, 5:00 – England vs. Italy<\/strong> Italy 2 – England 1<\/em> Day One Recap<\/strong> 6\/19, 3:00 – England vs. Uruguay<\/strong> Uruguay 2 – England 1<\/em> 6\/20, noon – Costa Rica vs. Italy<\/strong> Costa Rica 1 – Italy 0<\/em> Day Two Recap<\/strong> 6\/24, noon – Costa Rica vs. England Costa Rica 0 – England 0 Group D Final Recap 2. Uruguay<\/strong> – Not exactly how they drew it up, but the 2010 semifinalists are through their group by winning tough matches against England and Italy in the wake of a shocking opening loss to Costa Rica.\u00a0 The 6 points they needed weren’t likely to all come from the Euro sides in the group, but that’s what happened and now the South Americans will join 3 continent-mates in the top quadrant of the bracket.\u00a0 They will take on Colombia in the Round of 16 in advance of a possible quarterfinal against the Brazil-Chile winner.\u00a0 Without Suarez, though, they have to go in as decided underdogs against a smoking hot Colombia side.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 3. Italy<\/strong> – After an inspired win over rival England, the Italians dropped back-to-back matches against Costa Rica and Uruguay and are eliminated in group play for the second straight World Cup.\u00a0 As Doogan points out, it will be a much different looking Italian side the next time we see them internationally, as the core is aging, most notably midfielder, Pirlo, and goalkeeper, Buffon.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 4. England<\/strong> – Ah, leave it to England to bow out un-unceremoniously.\u00a0 This time around, they were bitten by sloppy midfield play and downright poor defense.\u00a0 I am sure the English media will be all over the failures of this iteration, so I will save any more of my amateur assessment, but I was impressed by several of their attacking midfielders and strikers.\u00a0 I have no idea where they go from here, but I am sure they will be back to disappoint in future tournaments.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This post will be updated as Group D progresses. Group D Preview (Costa Rica, England, Italy, Uruguay) One of the most underrated groups when it comes to toughness, Group D is no joke, and the two survivors of this group … Continue reading
\nOne of the most underrated groups when it comes to toughness, Group D is no joke, and the two survivors of this group will have earned their places in the knockout stage.\u00a0 Uruguay – a semifinalist in South Africa in 2010 – is probably the odds-on favorites to win this group, but no one will be surprised if they don’t even qualify given the pedigree of their fellow Group D’ers.\u00a0 Particularly, the two European squads that are loaded with international stars.\u00a0 The Italians are aging, but incredibly talented and always <\/em>seem to perform their best on the biggest of stages (in all international sporting events).\u00a0 They are also trying to erase the memories of a painful 2010 World Cup, where they finished last in their group behind the likes of Paraguay, Slovakia, and even the lowly All-Whites from New Zealand.\u00a0 England at least got out of the Group Stage in 2010 before getting plastered by Germany in the Round of 16.\u00a0 The Brits are back with a host of EPL all-stars to see if they can erase their country’s long-standing disappointment in the World Cup.\u00a0 And, then there is the darkhorse of the group, Costa Rica.\u00a0 The “sharp” soccer handicappers have been taking long odds on Costa Rica to come out of this group.\u00a0 Just sayin’.<\/p>\n
\nUruguay avoids an opening game against either of the big Euro sides, but instead better come to play against a Costa Rica team that has been playing rather well of late.\u00a0 Not much is expected of the Costa Ricans, so anything here would be enormous, but if they can pull out at least a draw, they might have a lot of confidence going forward against those Euro sides.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>While the 5-1 final in the Netherlands-Spain match may have been the most surprising overall result so far in the Cup, this was the most surprising winner.\u00a0 Uruguay came in knowing that they had to bring their best efforts since they were in a group with both Italy and England, but Costa Rica was supposed to be the beatable side in this group.\u00a0 But, you have to hand it to the Vegas “sharps,” who were all over Costa Rica in pretournament betting.\u00a0 And, they sure looked like the better side on this day.\u00a0 This group just got even more interesting than it already was, as we now can look ahead to Italy and England taking on a suddenly reeling Uruguay squad and a suddenly dangerous and confident Costa Rican side.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nWhat a great way for both of these sides to get their 2014 campaign going.\u00a0 They are not exactly the best of friends on the pitch, and they have certainly had their fair share of tussles in the past.\u00a0 This should be intense and ugly – and must-see TV.\u00a0 The only problem is that, as the opening game between two teams that will not be satisfied with anything other than a deep run, this wreaks of a conservatively-played draw.\u00a0 If either side does pick up 3 points here, it would (obviously) be gigantic for their chances to get out of this group.<\/p>\n
\nMy favorite result so far because there isn’t a side that I enjoy rooting against more than England, and, seeing as my last name ends in “I,” I am always rooting for my descendants.\u00a0 This match was really good for a half and then pretty uninteresting after the Italians took the 2-1 lead.\u00a0 Maybe it was the heat and humidity; maybe it was the Italian defense.\u00a0 Either way, the Azzurri picked up a really important opening win and are solid shape to potentially win\u00a0a group that looked dangerous to even get out of.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nCosta Rica pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament thus far, while Italy picked up one of the more important victories.\u00a0 It is still far too early to close the book on either England or Uruguay, but both did not help themselves and neither looked all that good, to be honest.\u00a0 Costa Rica is certainly going to make this group interesting, and Italy has now gone from maybe the third choice to most likely winner in one eventful day.\u00a0 More INCREDIBLY interesting matches upcoming – stay tuned to Group D – it’s just getting started!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThis is a fantastic match with two Top Ten teams up against the wall and staring at potential elimination.\u00a0 Uruguay, who was shockingly upset by Costa Rica in their opening match, now somehow need to probably get at least 4 points out of England and Italy – no small feat at all.\u00a0 And, the way the Italians looked 5 days ago, that probably means that beating England today is an absolute must.\u00a0 On the flip side, things are a little rosier for the Brits, but not much.\u00a0 Knowing they have Costa Rica as their third match might be a little most promising, but the Costa Ricans proved to be no pushovers and they still need points from this match here against a Uruguay team that is as solid as any in the world.\u00a0 This is one of the better matches of the first round, and it is made even more interesting by the razor’s edge on which both of these teams sit after disappointing openers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nLuis Suarez – the EPL’s leading goal scorer by a ridiculously wide margin – broke the hearts of the country in which he earns his living.\u00a0 Two impressive goals (which also exemplified impressively poor defense from the English) by Suarez effectively ended the 2014 World Cup for the Three Lions.\u00a0 This was an interesting match that showed some elite offensive performances around some shoddy defense.\u00a0 The English outplayed Uruguay for most of the match, but missed chance after chance after chance.\u00a0 They finally got the equalizer (and looked like they were heading for AT LEAST a 1-1 draw) from the one and only Wayne Rooney, but Suarez crushed their hopes just a couple minutes later, getting free against some terrible defense and putting in the game-winner.\u00a0 Uruguay is alive and well now and will get ready for a VERY important and interesting match with Italy.\u00a0 The English are all but done, though they do have a very beatable Costa Rica to close out the group.\u00a0 However, if Italy does not beat Costa Rica on Friday, the English will have nothing to play for.\u00a0 Wow!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe shocker of the first round of games was the Costa Rica upset of Uruguay.\u00a0 But, no rest for the weary, as they now face an Italian team that looked very good in a win over England.\u00a0 With both of these teams sitting on 3 points, a winner here would be in total control of this group, obviously.\u00a0 While Costa Rica would certainly be okay with a draw, Italy is clearly looking for 3 more points to put this group away in advance of their finale with Uruguay.\u00a0 Do the scary underdogs have another trick in their bag today against another one of the world’s soccer superpowers?\u00a0 If so – and all CR needs is a draw – the English will be eliminated.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nDVR issues cost me this one, but according to Doogan, this was really a show of great team defense by the Costa Ricans, who scored late in the first half and held on.\u00a0 Looking at the numbers, I was taken by one figure in particular – 11 offsides calls on\u00a0the Italians.\u00a0 That cannot be a good way to generate offense.\u00a0 I have to thank the Vegas sharps for making me money on this on, as I took Costa Rica at 10:1 just to get out of the group.\u00a0 I should have listened more and taken them at 30:1 to win the group, which looks likely at this point.<\/span>
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\nCosta Rica is the story here, as they have already beaten Uruguay and Italy and now take on a rattled English side needing only a point to win the group outright…WOW!\u00a0 Uruguay’s win over England sets up a FASCINATING matchup between Uruguay and Italy with elimination on the line.\u00a0 Italy only needs a draw, but Uruguay’s attacking style could make this great.\u00a0 The second-place side here would get a solid, but beatable Colombia in the Round of 16, so there is a TON at stake here.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n6\/24, noon – Italy vs. Uruguay<\/strong>
\nAgain, for the third straight time in these simultaneous starts, we really only need to focus on one match – which is nice because it is a FANTASTIC match.\u00a0 While I said that the Mexico-Croatia match would be my favorite of the third round, I was wrong, because this Italy-Uruguay match is better.\u00a0 It has all the same scenarios at stake with higher-profile and flat-out\u00a0better teams involved.\u00a0 Two top ten international sides will battle in a flat-out elimination match (with Italy going through with a draw).\u00a0 This should be fantastic.\u00a0 Alternatively, how great is it that the “Group of Champions” (dubbed so because they had three nations that have a WC title in their history) will most likely be won by the third qualifier from CONCACAF – and, obviously, the only one without a championship?\u00a0 The shocking Costa Ricans (who shocked everyone except the Vegas sharps) only need a draw with England to win the group and avoid Colombia in the Round of 16.\u00a0 They may even still win it with a loss, but that will come down to goal differential.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nUruguay\u00a01 – Italy 0
\n<\/em>So, apparently Luis Suarez bites people?\u00a0 Like, regularly?!?\u00a0 He’s a grown man, right?\u00a0 I really don’t get it.\u00a0 Trust me, I totally understand competitiveness and “in the heat of the game,” but biting?\u00a0 Seriously?\u00a0 Well, at least we’ve likely seen the last of him.\u00a0 We have not, however, seen the last of his Uruguay teammates, as they picked up a late goal against a 10-manned Italian side to move on through.\u00a0 The winning goal came on – literally – the very next play after the bite and happened, in part, due to a seemingly out of place Chiellini.\u00a0 Was he rattled by just being bitten by another human being?\u00a0 Possibly.\u00a0 So, in consecutive World Cups, Luis Suarez saves a game-winning goal with his hand in the quarterfinals against Ghana (with which I had ABSOLUTELY no problem) and then potentially sets up a game-winning goal in a group stage elimination game against Italy by biting a defender (with which I couldn’t possibly have more of a problem).\u00a0 In the end, this match – which was very good – will be remembered for the weird, primal, hilarious act by Suarez and not for a passionate Italian side that fought off the game-winner for 40 about minutes with just 10 men, and then nearly placed another equalizer with those 10 men (including goalkeeper Buffon, who they played their final ball to in the box).\u00a0 For the record, how great would it have been if Buffon headed in the equalizer at the final whistle?\u00a0 Anyway, the Uruguayans go through and will take on a red-hot Colombia side in the Round of 16.\u00a0 I will be honest, I did not watch one second of the other match, and I could not be more satisfied with that decision.\u00a0 Farewell, England, we will miss you.\u00a0 Costa Rica – congrats!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n1. Costa Rica<\/strong> – The Cup of the Americas continues, as every Western hemisphere side is still alive with all but Honduras looking good to move on through to the knockout stage (and Ecuador is a bit of a toss-up to get through).\u00a0 Costa Rica, the surprise of them all, ends up winning the “Group of Champions” and relatively easily, as they\u00a0end\u00a0the group\u00a0stage with wins over Uruguay and Italy and a draw with\u00a0England in a match where they only needed\u00a01 point.\u00a0 Now, they\u00a0match up with possibly the worst knockout qualifier, Greece, in the Round of 16 before a potential quarterfinal date with the Netherlands (unless fellow CONCACAF’er, Mexico, can shock the Dutch).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n