BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil: Costa Rica drew 0-0 with England to top World Cup Group D unbeaten and leave their opponents winless and bottom of the table yesterday in Belo Horizonte.
Costa Rica, who previously made the last 16 on one other occasion in 1990, defied the tag of minnows and outsiders in the group to beat both Uruguay and Italy. Uruguay seized second spot with a 1-0 win against 10-man Italy in Natal.
Sixty-four years on from their humiliating 1-0 loss to the United States in the city, a youthful and much-changed England side were unable to restore pride after their earliest World Cup exit since 1958.
Manager Roy Hodgson made nine changes to his starting XI, notably handing first competitive starts to 18-year-old Luke Shaw and 20-year-old Ross Barkley, but his side laboured in the Estadio Mineirao sunshine.
Hodgson, however, struck an upbeat note, saying: “Apart from the first 10 to 12 minutes, we dominated totally.
“We didn’t take our goal chances. If we did, we would have comfortably won. We created the chances and that’s important.
“I thought we were really unlucky not to win this game. I thought the whole back four was absolutely excellent. We restricted the team to almost no chances. In midfield we dominated and outplayed them.”
Further emphasising the mood of change for England, Frank Lampard captained the team and Steven Gerrard came on for what are likely to have been their final international appearances. But the day belonged to Costa Rica.
Jorge Luis Pinto’s side had already qualified thanks to their shock wins over Uruguay and Italy and can now look forward to a likely last-16 encounter with the Ivory Coast.
With Prince Harry, fourth in line to the British throne, watching from the stands, England’s would-be footballing heirs looked to make an aggressive start, but it was Costa Rica who threatened first. Arsenal forward Joel Campbell’s 20-yard dig took a deflection off Gary Cahill that sent it fractionally wide of the right-hand post, but no corner was awarded.
Some of the Costa Ricans’ interchanges conveyed the exuberance of a team riding the crest of a wave. AFP
