Preview: Italy vs Costa Rica

As England and Uruguay struggle to survive in their Group C (although Uruguay is faring better right now), Italy and Costa Rica don’t have to stress out much as other two teams. Azzurri and Los Ticos had a great start in their group; Italy defeated England 2-1 and Costa Rica crushed Uruguay (without Luis Suarez) 3-1. It was shocking to see that Uruguay who placed 4^th in previous World Cup was completely helpless against so called “weak” Costa Rica as they conceded 3 goals throughout the game. Now, the question is will Italy be too much for Costa Rica to handle or will Los Ticos create another potential upset against Azzurri?

Although Sirigu has performed very well as a backup goalie, it’s time for Buffon to step up and show the world he’s still the best goalie in the world where Casillas failed miserably for Spain (Casillas was in slump for awhile so never mind). Buffon will spearhead Azzurri’s defense as Los Ticos’ Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell will try to tear down the defense. But the question is will Buffon be able to play for this game? Although Buffon has been showing speedy recovery, it is unknown if Buffon will play. Even if Buffon plays, there will be concerns whether if he will be able to play 100% for this game. However, Sirigu can still help out Italy but Azzurri needs Buffon in order to go far in this World Cup.

Italy will also have their veteran Pirlo to link defense and the offense together who will be responsible for passing the ball to Balotelli to finish the deed. Costa Rica must watch out for Pirlo and Balotelli as they were key players for winning the game against England. Pirlo is known for his passes and ability to threaten other teams’ defenses easily. Marking down Pirlo will be a very tough job for Costa Rica’s midfield.

All Italy and Costa Rica have to do is that they must win this game in order to have a safe route to the 16^th round. But who will win this game? Will it be Costa Rica who shocked everyone with the upset against Uruguay? Will it be Italy who are trying to regain their 2006 World Cup glory? Here is our preview on this upcoming game.

Projecting Starting XI’s

• Italy (4-2-2-1): Buffon; Darmian, Chielleni, Paletta, Bonucci; De Rossi, Pirlo, Marchisio; Candreva, Verratti; Balotelli
• Costa Rica (5-2-2-1): Nevas; Gamboa, Umana, Gonzalez, Duarte, Diaz; Borges, Tejeda; Bolanos, Ruiz; Campbell

Keys for Italy

• Use Balotelli and Candreva’s duo effectively. Effective passes to Balotelli and Candreva will be needed as they are great finishers for the team. Although Cavani and Forlan fail to penetrate the defense, Balotelli and Candreva have tools to destroy the defense
• Use long balls and wait for late second half. Costa Rica tends to lose focus more often in late second half and it will be a great opportunity to kill Costa Rica’s defense. Also, goals Costa Rica conceded in previous games were due to long balls. Exploit that moment when you can.
• Don’t underestimate Costa Rica no matter what. Although, Costa Rica won because of Uruguay’s poor defense, they still have Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell who boast their athleticism as they tore down Godin and Lugano’s defense. This is crucial moment where Chielleni and Palletta will have to step up and support Buffon. Even though Buffon may be the best goalie in the world, he can’t really do anything if defenders just stand there and watch Ruiz and Campbell attacking constantly.

Keys for Costa Rica

• Irritate Balotelli much as possible. If the defense works hard to cut passes to Balotelli and get aggressive towards him, he will lose his temper. Known for his anger management issues, once he loses his temper, he will lose the focus of the game and Italy’s offense will be severely crippled.
•  Work on the defense. Although Cavani and Forlan’s duo hardly challenged Costa Rica’s defense, Balotelli and Candreva are on different level. Forlan and Cavani are past their prime while Balotelli and Candreva. Both of these players are showing excellent performance throughout the competition and Costa Rica’s defense will be destroyed if they treat Balotelli and Candreva as Forlan and Cavani.
• Watch out for Pirlo especially during set pieces. Pirlo recorded an assist during a set piece situation against England and he almost scored a goal with a free kick during the last minute before the closure of the game. Pirlo will be a mastermind behind set pieces so marking him will help Costa Rica a lot.

Key battles

• Balotelli vs Gonzalez: Balotelli is the ace of the team right now and has scored a goal with a nice pass from Candreva against England recently. As he has performed very well for both Italy and AC Milan, he is the most dangerous Azzurri that Los Ticos will have to deal with. With Candreva working beside him, Balotelli will be able to penetrate Costa Rica’s defense. But Balotelli will lose his focus when he gets provoked by other players. It will be Gonzalez’s duty to lose Balotelli’s temper and his notorious temper will hurt Italy at the end.
• Buffon vs Ruiz: Buffon is probably the most legendary player that Italy has right now besides Pirlo. When Buffon plays, Italian squad’s morale increase (#perksofveterans). Buffon will definitely lead Italy’s defense and it is Ruiz’s duty to see if he can score against Buffon. Ruiz will definitely give Buffon hard time as he was able to create goal chances for Costa Rica on previous game against Uruguay.
• Pirlo vs Bolanos: Pirlo was the MOM for the past game against England. With his killer passes and ability to create spaces for Candreva and Balotelli will be a threat to Costa Rica. Also, he was able to defend very well against England’s counterattacks, holding English midfield back completely. Bolanos is one of Costa Rica’s attacking threats. His speed will challenge Pirlo since Pirlo is an aged man. But beware, Pirlo is still capable of holding Bolanos down and his movements especially during set pieces are very dangerous.  As the right winger, Bolanos has tools to make creative attacks for Costa Rica and it will be Pirlo’s duty slow Bolanos down.

Staff predictions

• Drew: 3-2 Italy. You cannot sleep on Costa Rica, and they proved that against Uruguay. They will outwork you off the ball and press the midfield to force mistakes and then quickly release themselves on the counter, which is exactly what they’ll need to do against Italy. Italy on the other hand, have so many options apart from midfield that they can adapt to a high pressure defense, which can easily be unlocked by one master, Pirlo. Costa Rica’s biggest weakness is their defense, but that was not sufficiently exploited by Uruguay- Balotelli and Candreva have the quality to unlock the Costa Rican defense.
• Charles: 2-0 Italy. Yes, Costa Rica proved to the world that they are not easy to beat. But they have to know Italy and Uruguay are different. Italy is not the one man team where Uruguay heavily depended on Suarez which hurt the team for that previous game. Italy’s defense will be very difficult for Ruiz and Campbell to penetrate. Even though Campbell and Ruiz are still good players, you have to consider the fact that Uruguay’s defense is not reliable. Pirlo will be a key for Balotelli and Candreva for Italy. They are far more capable than Forlan and Cavani and I won’t be surprised to see Balotelli scoring another goal for this match.
• Young: 2-1 Italy. Italy can afford to underestimate Joel Campbell. But there is a goo chance he might crack a good shot at goal. Still Costa Rica doesn’t have an answer for the Architect, Andreas Pirlo, and will struggle to defend the box as they get barraged by his passes.