This is a match-up between a gnarled veteran and a flashy tyro. Costa Rica surprised one and all with a scintillating win over Uruguay. Italy dished out a business-as-usual win against England. They are wily old foxes, adept at taming the red-hot upstarts.

Italy-Costa Rica Preview

The match will have a huge bearing on the fortunes of the other teams in the group. The winner of the match will almost seal their berth in the next round.

Costa Rica plays a spirited game of attacking soccer. They charge to the opposition penalty box in numbers. The ploy might prove counter-productive against Italy, who are masters of solid defending and deadly counter-attacking.

Italy will be looking forward to do what they did successfully against England: calmly absorb the pressure exerted from the opposition and strike at the opportune moments. Costa Rica is not as fancied a side as England. But still, they could unleash a more potent attack on the Italian defence.

Players

Italy sprung a surprise in the first match by introducing Salvatore Sirigu as the goal keeper, instead of the evergreen Gianluigi Buffon. Sirigu produced a nerveless display. He is likely to keep the place as Buffon has not regained fitness. Mario Balotelli is once again expected to shoulder the goal-scoring duties for his team. If he fails, as he is prone to do occasionally, Ciro Immobile can step in as a potential super sub.

Costa Rica has no injury concerns. The goal-scorers against Uruguay, Joel Campbell Óscar Duarte and Marco Ureña, will try to boost further their fast-burgeoning reputation.

Italy-Costa Rica Probable Lineups:

Italy : Buffon, Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli, Abate, Rossi, Marchisio, Pirlo, Verratti, Candreva, Balotelli

Costa Rica : Navas, Díaz, Umaña, Gonzalez, Duarte, Gamboa, Bolaños, Tejeda, Borges, Ruiz, Campbell

Italy-Costa Rica Prediction

While it is tempting to predict fairly tale wins, Italy’s record at world cups prevents any such fancy thoughts. Italy is likely to eke out another narrow win.

Italy to win 1.50 @ Bet365

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