Costa Rica sets up first big upset of the tournament

Few would have thought of yesterday’s 5-1 drubbing of Spain in the hands of the Dutchmen. The result of the Group D encounter between Costa Rica and Uruguay was even more surprising and shocking. The 2-time world champions Uruguay lost their opening match against Costa Rica and that too by a comprehensive margin of 3-1.

The match started in an expected fashion as the South Americans took the lead through Edinson Cavani’s spot kick. Uruguay was all over the Central Americans as their keeper Keylor Navas made an excellent save from Diego Forlan just few minutes before the half time to keep them in the hunt.

The second half however saw a fairy tale come back from Costa Rica as they wiped away the 1-goal deficit and added 2 later on to seal a famous victory in their history of football. Joel Campbell led the counter attack on Uruguay bringing the match on level terms. The Costa Ricans suddenly got energized by Campbell’s display as minutes later Oscar Duarte put them in the lead. Marco Urena added the third of the night to put the result beyond any doubt within minutes of coming in as a substitute. Joel Campbell was clearly the star of the match as he showed his brilliance even when the chips were down in the first half as he turned the match on its head in the second half.

With such a crucial victory Costa Rica now find them in a great position for qualifying into the second round from the group of death. Uruguay failing to take advantage of their known conditions is staring at an early exit from the tournament.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.