Teams from Americas shine bright
Print Edition
THE World Cup of surprises is turning into a sweet samba party for teams from the Americas.
Having already stunned one former world champion, little Costa Rica shocked another on Friday and sent a third home.
The story so far: Two European powers — Spain and England — are out of contention after just two games. European teams have played eight teams from the Americas and won just twice. The nine teams from Africa and Asia have contrived to win just one game between them.
But for teams from the Americas, their record as of Friday against nations from other regions: played 12, lost just two. Ole! In short, the new world is embarrassing the old one.
None of the previous seven World Cups in the Americas were won by teams outside Latin America. On current evidence, this one looks increasingly unlikely to be the exception.
Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto said the sky’s the limit after the central Americans claimed their second major scalp of the World Cup on Friday in Recife, Brazil, to secure their place in the last 16.
Less than a week after a 3-1 come-from-behind win over Uruguay, Pinto’s team added another touch of magic to their impressive campaign so far with a deserved 1-0 win over four-time champions Italy.
“We’re delighted with the win, which has put us into the second round, but we don’t want to stop there. It’s only the start,” said Pinto.
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