When the World Cup draw was made, Costa Rica were thought of as the outsiders of Group D, the whipping boys but how things have changed. The Central American nation have already qualified after surprise victories over Uruguay and Italy and will be looking to add already eliminated England to the list on Tuesday. Already on six points, Costa Rica need only a draw to win the group and they will be full of confidence when they take to the pitch against an England side that was defeated in both World Cup games they have played. England aside, the players are already looking beyond the group stages and are full of hope that they can surpass the feat of the 1990 team that reached the second round before losing 4-1 to Czechoslovakia. If their opening match victory against Uruguay was a surprise, then the 1-0 defeat of former World Champions Italy was a shock, one that upset the whole group dynamics and eliminated England. In Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell, the Ticos have an offense that can cause the England backline all sorts of problems. Defensively, they’re also good, especially with Levante goalkeeper Keylor Navas proving almost unbeatable between the sticks.
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For England, this is nothing more than a chance to salvage some of their pride. The Three Lions are down and out already but will be hoping they can at least leave Brazil on a high by securing victory against Costa Rica. There has been talk about sacking Roy Hodgson as coach but the FA are standing firm behind the former Liverpool manager who talked about a four-year plan when he was appointed ahead of Euro 2012. Obviously, England’s defense has been the weak link in the tournament with both Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill below par. The pair just aren’t top class defenders and their limitations were brutally exposed by Mario Balotelli and Luis Suarez in the matches against Italy and Uruguay respectively. It will be hard for the English to find positives in this tournament but they’ll look to move on quickly, starting with a victory against the Ticos.
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TEAM NEWS
Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto has said he will rest some of his starters for the game as he feels recharging the batteries is more important than winning the group, especially in such energy-sapping conditions.
Roy Hodgson is also expected to ring the changes with the likes of Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Frank Lampard, Jack Wilshere, Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana expected to be handed opportunities in the dead rubber tie.
Probable Lineups
Costa Rica (5-4-1): Navas; Diaz, Umana, Gonzalez, Acosta, Gamboa; Bolanos, Tejeda, Borges, Cubero; Urena
England (4-2-3-1): Hart; Shaw, Cahill, Smalling, Jones; Wilshere, Lampard; Lallana, Barkley, Milner; Rooney
PREDICTION
Both teams are expected to make heavy changes to their starting XI and this makes the game tough to predict. However, I think a young England side playing without pressure would overcome Costa Rica.
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