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RECIFE, Brazil -- Costa Rica has turned the table on the teams World Cup expectations. Or at least on everyone elses expectations. Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process. After entering the tournament as an expected underdog in a group featuring three former world champions, Costa Rica is now on top. "Maybe there are a lot of people who didnt have faith in us because we were in the Group of Death, said Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz, who scored the key goal. "But the other guys are the ones who are dead and were going to the next round." Ruiz gave his side the lead in the 44th minute, heading in off the underside of the crossbar following a cross from Junior Diaz. Goal-line technology was used to show that the ball bounced down and in after hitting the bar. There was a frenetic end to the first half, as moments before Ruizs goal Costa Rica had a penalty appeal waved away when striker Joel Campbell was bundled over by Giorgio Chiellini. Costa Rica leads Group D with six points, while Italy and Uruguay have three each before Tuesdays showdown. England has zero points after losing to Italy and Uruguay. Italy (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), Uruguay (1930, 1950) and England (1966) have won a combined seven World Cups. Costa Ricas only other appearance in the knockout phase came in its World Cup debut in 1990, when it beat Sweden and Scotland under experienced coach Bora Milutinovic before ultimately getting eliminated by Czechoslovakia. "Those who havent supported us may believe in us right now," Ruiz said. Italy, meanwhile, can still advance with a win or even a draw with Uruguay, since it leads on goal difference which is the first qualifying criteria. "We gave our all. They did well to block every pass," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "Theres no worry now. We just need to regain our energy." It was exactly 24 years ago to the day that Costa Rica beat Sweden 2-1 to advance at the tournament in Italy. "There are no more Cinderellas in football, especially in a competition like the World Cup," Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon said. It marked the fourth consecutive World Cup in which Italy failed to win its second match, although only in 2010 did the Azzurri not advance. "Well play a great match against Uruguay," second-half Italy substitute Antonio Cassano said. "Im convinced we will. ... If we regain our energy we can (advance) comfortably." While it was nowhere near as hot as Italy feared at the Arena Pernambuco -- 29 C (84 F) and 70 per cent humidity according to FIFA -- the Azzurri still struggled to keep up with the speedy Ticos for long stretches. Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto lined up five defenders but his squad was able advance forward with one swift, sweeping movement -- just like in the 3-1 win over Uruguay. "We did what we needed to do, we took away the game from the Italians," Pinto said. The Azzurri hardly threatened until Mario Balotelli had chances in the 31st and 33rd minutes. First, Balotelli was set up with a long, vertical pass from Andrea Pirlo and tried to lift the bouncing ball over the charging goalkeepers head but missed the target. Then the Azzurri forward had an effort from beyond the area stopped by goalkeeper Keylor Navas. "If we had scored goals on those two chances for Balotelli, the match would have changed," Prandelli said. Costa Rica kept its poise after the threats from Balotelli and in the 36th minute Buffon had to make a diving save to stop a shot from midfielder Christian Bolanos. In the 43rd, Chiellini made an uncharacteristic error -- gifting the ball to Campbell near midfield -- and then raced back and committed what appeared to be a clear foul. However, Chilean referee Enrique Osses motioned to play on. Prandelli attempted to stir things up by adding Cassano, Lorenzo Insigne and Alessio Cerci in the second half, providing the Azzurri with four forwards instead of just Balotelli, but the 2006 winners rarely came close to equalizing. "Its a deserved defeat," Prandelli said. "They were much more aggressive than us. They kept coming constantly and we werent able to stop them." ------ Italy: Gianluigi Buffon, Ignazio Abate, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Matteo Darmian, Daniele De Rossi, Antonio Candreva (Lorenzo Insigne, 57), Thiago Motta (Antonio Cassano, 46), Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio (Alessio Cerci, 69), Mario Balotelli. Costa Rica: Keylor Navas, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Michael Umana, Celso Borges, Oscar Duarte, Christian Bolanos, Joel Campbell (Marcos Urena, 74), Bryan Ruiz (Randall Brenes, 81), Junior Diaz, Cristian Gamboa, Yeltsin Tejeda (Jose Cubero, 67). Cheap Wholesale Air Max 720 . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Air Max 720 Australia Sale .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. http://www.cheapairmax720australia.com/. The first baseman hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Mets to a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Cheap Air Max 720 Australia . -- Its been 21 years since Joe Gibbs Racing celebrated its only Daytona 500 victory. Cheap Wholesale Nike Air Max 720 . The eighth-year point guard played in his 500th career game on Sunday, a 98-93 win over the Orlando Magic. Does he feel like hes played in that many games? "No," he said initially, before reconsidering.ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- Brandon Pirri, Mike Hoffman and Joe Whitney combined for 8 points, carrying much of the offensive punch for the American Hockey League All-Stars in a 7-2 rout over visiting Farjestad BK in Wednesday nights AHL All-Star game. Hoffman said their line found instant chemistry due to the players having a similar playing style. "Were all offensive-minded players so when you throw us guys together we can usually (play well) together quickly," he said. "Its nice to play in an all-star game." Pirri scored twice and added an assist, while Hoffman added a goal and two assists, Ryan Strome scored two goals, and Ben Street and Travis Morin also scored for the All-Stars. Pirri won the games MVP honour. Pirri, a Chicago Blackhawks prospect, credited the atmosphere of the game and his linemates for his MVP performance. "It was a lot of fun tonight," Pirri said. "My linemates played a big part in it. It was a lot of fun and a great experience. It was about fun today and keeping up with good habits. We had a lot of speed there and it worked out well, we found chemistry early." The All-Stars carried a 4-goal lead after the first period. "You never know when youre going to get into situations like that," Hoffman said. "We wanted to come out hard and we had a good, strong start." Magnum Nygren and Rickard Wallin replied for Farjestad BK. The AHL All-Stars opened the scoring at the 8:43 mark of the first period,, as Joe Whitney made a backhand pass across the crease to Hoffman, who tapped the puck into a wide-open net.dddddddddddd Strome capitalized on a turnover in the slot and scored on a quick wristshot, catching Farjestad BK goalie Frederik Pettersson-Wentzel unprepared at the 10:08 mark of the first period. That made it 2-0 for the All-Stars. The All-Stars added another when Jason Jaffray found Street wide-open with a pass from behind the net. Street one-timed a wrister high blocker at the 12:00 mark of the first period. With 1:23 left in the first, Morin tipped home a Cody Goloubef slapshot from the point for the All-Stars to make it 4-0. Both teams switched goalies at the 11:32 mark of the second period. The All-Stars put in Dustin Tokarski, while Farjestad BK put in Pekka Tuokkola. Pirri added to the lead, scoring on a quick move on a breakaway before burying a shot blocker side 8:51 into the second period. Twenty-five seconds into the period, Nygren fired a point shot through heavy traffic to get Farjestad BK on the board. Pirri added another goal, finishing off a Hoffman backhand pass across the crease 3:20 into the third period. Farjestad BK made it a 6-2 game when Wallin tipped a point shot into the net at the 8:45 mark of the third. Strome drove to the net, made a toe-drag and scored with a quick wrist shot with 1:53 left in the game. Jake Allen made 14 saves for the All-Stars, while Tokarski saved 20. Pettersson-Wentzel stopped 13, and Tuokkola saved 10. ' ' '