England goes back without a win

It finally came to end. An oppressive couple of weeks for the Englishmen finally came to an end when the referee blew the final whistle at the Bello Horizonte. England remained winless after their draw against Costa Rica. The match ended where it all began with neither team getting not many chances to score. England showed that they have a promising squad as Roy Hodgson brought on few changes in the last game. Wayne Rooney was dropped and Frank Lampard was given a start along with few youngsters like Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana and Ross Barkley. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling also got a start for the final game. But it did not change much as England settled for the draw. There were chances but it needed something more from the English players to convert those into goals. Also the fact they did not want to lose three matches on a row could be realized as they preferred to keep their defense tight while going into the attack. And the end result was quite justified.

Costa Rica who played brilliantly against Uruguay and Italy showed sparks of what they can do as they also did not want to lose before the knock out games. There were no clear goalscoring opportunities for them as well and it was their least effervescent performance till now in this world cup. They will be up against the second best team from Group C whom they will play at Recife on June 30.

• About the Author

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.