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England, Uruguay meet in critical Group D match

Jul 10, 2014 - 1:12 AM Sao Paulo, Brazil (SportsNetwork.com) - England and Uruguay will both aim for a rebound performance on Thursday when the sides meet in Group D action at the Arena Corinthians.

Uruguay was handed what was thought to be a favorable schedule with their first match against Costa Rica on Saturday, but it was Costa Rica that pulled off an improbable 3-1 victory over the South American side in Fortaleza.

Star striker Luis Suarez was an unused substitute as he continues to recover from knee surgery, and his status for Thursday is still uncertain.

Uruguay got off to a fast start when Diego Lugano attempted to get on the end of a free kick delivered into the box but was wrapped up by Junior Diaz. Referee Felix Brych pointed to the spot and Edinson Cavani converted the ensuing attempt to give Uruguay the edge in the 23rd minute.

Costa Rica drew level in the 54th minute when Arsenal man Joel Campbell collected a square pass from the right wing and hammering it past Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

Three minutes later Los Ticos grabbed the lead with a spectacular set piece as Oscar Duarte got on the end of a free kick at the back post and fired home with a diving header, despite putting his face directly in line with the defender's boot.

Los Ticos finished off the victory in style late on when Campbell played a stellar through ball to the feet of Marco Urena, who expertly finished past Muslera to the far post.

I don't know what Costa Rica's limit is, but today they played well," said Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez. "They were tactically better than us, which reflects well on their coach and players. When they took the lead, they gave us space and let us play where we couldn't do them any harm. Now we're going to try and get back on track against England."

England will be aiming for a better performance as the Three Lions are in need of three points after falling to Italy, 2-1, in their Group D opener in Manaus on Saturday.

Saturday's affair started brightly for the Three Lions as they had the better of play in the early stages. They came within inches of taking the lead in the 24th minute when Danny Welbeck slid a low cross in front of goal, but Andrea Barzagli managed to turn the delivery out for corner, just out of the reach of the on-rushing Daniel Sturridge.

England fell behind in the 35th minute when Andrea Pirlo dummied a pass to the top of the box to take the defending Sturridge out of the equation, allowing Claudio Marchisio to hammer a shot that went through traffic and into the bottom corner of the net.

The Three Lions responded almost immediately as Wayne Rooney found space on the left flank and sent a driven ball across the face of goal where Sturridge was there to fire it home first-time.

But the Italians found the winner in the second half when Antonio Candreva delivered an exquisite cross to the back post where Mario Balotelli was able to elude Gary Cahill to nod his shot past England goalkeeper Joe Hart and put Cesare Prandelli's side back in front.

"It was a disappointing result," England manager Roy Hodgson said. "It's hard to look on the bright side when you lose - you need time to let it sink in. My first impression is that we did some things very well and had some good individual performances, but unfortunately we conceded that second goal. Even after that we had chances to score, but we couldn't manage it."

The result saw England drop only their second World Cup opener since 1962. Three points are a must against Uruguay if they want a place in the next round.