The Italians lost to Costa Rica, 1-0, last Friday. However the four-time World Cup champions only needed a tie against Uruguay to advance to the knockout round of the tournament.
Uruguay skipper Diego Godín scored to send Italy crashing out of the World Cup on Tuesday amid a new biting controversy for South American star striker Luis Suárez.
England manager Roy Hodgson will field an experimental side as his team's miserable World Cup draws to a close against Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Italy striker Mario Balotelli joked on Thursday that if his side rescues England's chances of World Cup qualification by beating Costa Rica, he expects a kiss from British monarch Queen Elizabeth II.
Heavyweights England and Uruguay must resurrect their World Cup hopes or face the prospect of an early flight home when they collide in a Group D fixture on Thursday at 1 p.m.
Uruguay coach Óscar Tabárez said he won't rush Luis Suárez back from a knee injury for his side's World Cup opener against Costa Rica in Fortaleza on Saturday
It's a relatively minor procedure, but with the surgery so close to the start of the World Cup it'll come down to the wire whether Suarez is ready for the team's opener -- which is against Costa Rica on June 14.
Italy go to the World Cup finals looking to equal the record of hosts Brazil and lift the trophy for a fifth time.
With the first Group D game against England and tricky encounters with Uruguay and Costa Rica to follow, Coach Cesare Prandelli still has tough decisions to make.
Costa Rica's Finance Ministry has increased the selective consumption tax applied to electric vehicles, a change Finance Minister Rodrigo Chaves announced Wednesday evening and...
Costa Rica's Ministry of Justice and Peace has ordered the immediate removal of every television set from cells across the national prison system, the...
