Stay’ – Costa Rica
Bye bye England: Costa Rica’s Bryan Ruiz scores the goal that sent England on its way home from Brazil. turf the way tennis players often do after winning Grand Slam titles.
Nearly an hour after the match, when team captain Ruiz accepted the player-of-the-match award, Costa Rican fans could still be heard celebrating outside the stadium. Meanwhile, players began to receive photos on their smartphones of celebrating fans in the streets in the Costa Rican capital, San Jose, and beyond.
‘‘Maybe we hadn’t realised how important this victory was after the match, but now we do,’’ Ruiz said. ‘‘Thank you to the fans who have supported us all along, and those who haven’t supported us maybe believe in us right now.’’
Costa Rica entered their match against the Azzurri exuding confidence after opening with a surprising 3-1 comeback victory over Uruguay, a semifinalist in 2010.
But Uruguay striker Luis Suarez, who nearly led Liverpool to an English Premier League title this past season, missed that game and there were some questions about how Costa Rica would handle one of the traditional powers at full strength.
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli wasn’t surprised by their performance.
‘‘They have quality players,’’ Prandelli said. ‘‘It was the squad with the lowest profile in the group but you don’t advance on profile alone in big tournaments.’’