Balotelli seals it for Italy

An unmarked Mario Balotelli headed in the decisive strike against England to give four-time champions Italy an impressive 2-1 win in the heart of Amazon rain-forests but Uruguay were stunned 1-3 by Costa Rica on an action-packed day three of the FIFA World Cup.

The mercurial Balotelli headed in the decisive second goal in the 50th minute after Claudio Marchisio struck in the first half (35th minute) for the Azzurri in a gripping Group D contest here. Daniel Sturridge had kept England in the match with a 37th minute goal on a busy day at the event which featured four matches.

First up, Columbia trounced former European champions Greece 3-0. Pablo Armero (5th minute), Teofilo Gutierrez (58th minute) and James Rodriguez (93rd minute) were the scorers for the Columbian team.

In other matches, two-time former champions Uruguay were shocked by Costa Rica, a team which had failed to qualify for the 2010 edition. Played in the heart of the Amazon jungles, Italy and England beat the heat and humidity to dish out an engaging encounter. 

The Italians lost skipper and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon hours before the start of the clash due to injury but did not allow the setback to affect their performance. Buffon’s replacement, Salvatore Sirigu, was excellent under the bar and made some fine saves. In a fascinating first half, Italy surged ahead on a set-piece goal in the 35th minute by Marchisio and England retaliated two minutes later through Daniel Sturridge, brilliantly fed by Wayne Rooney and Raheem Sterling. 

England attacked relentlessly but it was young Balotelli, the hero of Italy’s Qualifying campaign, who found the winner for the Azzurri early in the second half. He headed home a sumptuous pass from Antonio Candreva, five minutes into the second half and that proved decisive in the outcome.