RECIFE, Brazil -- Costa Rica has turned the table on the teams World Cup expectations. wholesale jerseys . 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). wholesale nfl jerseys . The biggest shock of this seasons competition was on when Watford took a 2-0 lead after 30 minutes at Etihad Stadium, only for a remarkable Aguero-led comeback by City in the final half-hour. The Argentina striker produced clinical finishes in the 60th and 79th minutes to level the score before Aleksandar Kolarov put City in front in the 87th. jerseys from china . The Italian came from behind to overtake Jarlinson Pantano in the final 50 metres and edge out Dario Cataldo on the line after a climb to the sanctuary of Oropa, the scene of Marco Pantanis memorable victory in 1999.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Detroit Pistons have won two straight for only the second time this season, but itll be tough sledding in a bid for three in a row Monday night when they visit Staples Center to take on a Los Angeles Clippers team in need of a win. The Pistons dropped 13 in a row until a victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. Detroit continued the momentum Saturday with a 95-90 win over the Sacramento Kings. Josh Smith scored 21 points with 13 rebounds, five assists and five blocks to help the Pistons to victory. Greg Monroe led the Pistons with 21 points and Andre Drummond checked in with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Its been a long time, and then we get two in a row, said Detroit head coach Stan Van Gundy. The main thing was our defense. We rebounded, obviously, weve struggled badly, but defensively holding them to 36 percent, I think was good. The Pistons forced 17 Sacramento turnovers en route to the victory. Detroit will go searching for its first three-game winning streak since February. The Pistons havent swept a three-game western trip since November of 2008. The Pistons head back to Detroit for two straight, starting Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks. The Clippers return to Hollywood after a 1-2 road trip and the losses came in the last two stops. Los Angeles fell to the Washington Wizards on Friday night, then lost to the Milwauukee Bucks, 111-106, on Saturday. cheap nfl jerseys. The Clippers, who have lost two in a row on the heels of a season-long nine- game winning streak, got contributions from its role players while the stars struggled. Matt Barnes scored a game- and season-high 26 points and J.J. Redick dropped 25, while Chris Paul and Blake Griffin netted 10 points apiece. The Bucks played well, but when you allow a team to shoot 56 percent from the field you probably lose the game and we did, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. Paul, the leagues most sure-handed player, has committed six turnovers in back-to-back games. LA fought hard in the game. Milwaukees 12-point lead with 4 1/2 minutes to play was trimmed to five following a 7-0 Clippers run. The Bucks held a narrow lead the rest of the way, but Jamal Crawford stepped into a deep 3-pointer with three seconds remaining to make things interesting. His heave made it a three-point game, and Brandon Knights ensuing inbounds pass was deflected out of bounds. Referees went to the video monitor to determine if the ball hit Knight before landing, but the Bucks were ultimately rewarded the ball. Knight made two free throws to seal the outcome. The Clippers bested the Pistons by six at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Nov. 26 and have won seven in a row in this series. 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