Nobody can kill off a game like Italy.
After a breathless final 10 minutes of the first half and first 10 minutes of the second that saw three goals and a barrage of shots, Italy packed it in on defense and held on for a 2-1 win over England.
England had the better of the chances for the first half hour, testing Italy backup goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, who was filling in for the injured Gianluigi Buffon. The Italian back line stood tall, however, and the Azurri struck first in the 35th minute.
Normally derided as an inefficient play, the short corner kick made all the difference for Italy as a crafty play by the 37-year-old Andrea Pirlo set Claudio Marchisio up for a wonderful strike that sailed past England goalkeeper Joe Hart:
England came back with a vengeance, however, and by the time the replays of Marchisio’s goal had finished Wayne Rooney was storming down the left flank with the ball at his feet. He delivered a delightful cross right into the path of a charging Daniel Sturridge, who easily hammered home the equalizer and caused such a wild celebration that England’s trainer dislocated his ankle:
After he hit the post just before halftime, Italy’s Antonio Candreva came out with great energy in the second half and absolutely worked England left back Leighton Baines.Candreva was rewarded for his incredible effort just five minutes in, delivering a picture-perfect cross to forward Mario Balotelli, who out-leaped a ball-watching Gary Cahill and headed home the go-ahead goal:
England’s best chance to equalize came in the 62nd minute, when Rooney managed to free himself in the box and had a golden opportunity to tally his first-ever World Cup goal in eight career matches. His effort was, to understate things, disappointing:
Over the final half hour, the English players looked absolutely spent. Perhaps no play better symbolized their fatigue than this corner kick from Rooney, which was truly one of the worst we have ever seen:
Italy’s ability to possess and work the ball all around the field only exacerbated the problem, and with 20 minutes to go the result felt like a foregone conclusion.
The England loss sets up a massive match against Uruguay on Thursday, as the English will need to win the game outright to regain control of their destiny in the tournament. The loser of this game will be going home early, and a tie doesn't do much for them either.
Italy, on the other hand, is in great shape. They will meet fellow winner Costa Rica, and while both will likely be satisfied with a draw, a win would put that team through to the next round.
RELATED: Mario Balotelli Heads Italy Back into the Lead (GIF)
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