Suárez Makes Heroic Victory For Uruguay Meanwhile Costa Rica Surprises Italy And Qualifies First!

Just weeks after undergoing knee surgery, Luis Suarez scored both of Uruguay's goals here Thursday in a 2-1 victory over England.

The result leaves Uruguay with three points after two matches and a chance of advancing to the knockout stage.

The "dual of the desperate" between England and Uruguay unfolded in front of 62,572 spectators - including some 20,000 Uruguayans - at São Paulo's Arena Corinthians.

England had the better of the play for long periods in the first half, but were unable to finish.

The best chance belonged to Wayne Rooney, an accomplished scorer for Manchester United in the Premier League and England international since 2006 who came into Thursday's contest with no goals in World Cup play.

Rooney's thundering shot after teammate Danny Welbeck was fouled sailed less than three feet over the top of the net.

 Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge also had opportunities, yet it was Uruguay who struck first, on Suarez's header in the 39th minute off a beautiful ball from Edinson Cavani.

The South Americans dominated for the first 20 minutes or so of the second half, though to no avail, as both Suarez and Cavani squandered chances to double the lead.

England regrouped and began applying pressure. Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera needed cat-like reflexes to turn aside a point-blank shot from Rooney.

 The Man United stalwart would get another chance, however, and this time, he made no mistake, hammering the ball past Muslera at the 75-minute mark.

The sides traded blows, but the English had the edge and Muslera was tested by a shot from Sturridge, Suarez's Liverpool teammate and partner in the Premier League's most potent offensive.

Who else but Suarez to deliver the win for Uruguay, taking advantage of a defensive miscue to make it 2-1 in the 85th minute

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.

Costa Rica captain Bryan 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 Ruiz’s 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 Tuesday’s showdown. England has zero points after losing to Italy and Uruguay.

So 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 didn’t have faith in us because we were in the ‘Group of Death.’ But the dead are the other ones and we’re going to the next round,” Ruiz said.

Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto was on the same wavelength.

“We have played a historic team. They’re really good,” he said. “They have wonderful players so, of course, we feel really proud. Our team feels proud, our country feels proud. We want to go even farther.”

COLOMBIA 2, IVORY COAST 1 Group C Has One Defined Leader

After their first World Cup victory in 16 years last Saturday, Colombia fans expressed their appreciation by giving Coach José Pékerman more than 400,000 write-in votes in Sunday’s presidential election.

That alone made the professorial Pékerman a national hero and his stature rose even higher Thursday when Colombia held on to beat Ivory Coast, 2-1, in a thrilling, wide-open Group C match at Estádio Nacional in front of a sea of fans wearing Colombian yellow shirts. That victory, combined with a subsequent 0-0 tie between Japan and Greece, propelled Colombia into the second round for the first time since 1990.

If the election were held again, Pékerman, who was born in Argentina and granted citizenship shortly after Colombia qualified for the World Cup, might double his vote tally. And should Colombia advance in the knockout stages, he might eventually have to change his designation to Mr. President.

 “It’s a little it funny, because football doesn’t have anything to do with being the leader of a country,” Pékerman said. “But I take it as an honor because this is payback for a lot of hard work. After a lot of frustration, it pleases us. Our nation is so passionate about its football that it hurts not to be on par with other countries.”

But after beating a talented Ivory Coast team in a harrowing 90 minutes of forward-minded soccer, Colombia is in a better position than some of the most renowned soccer-playing countries, including Spain, which has been eliminated, and England, which lost Thursday in crushing fashion to Uruguay, 2-1.

For several days leading up to this match, fans of Colombia, which neighbors Brazil, flooded into Brasilia, turning the stadium and the surrounding areas into a satellite Colombian city. The attendance was announced as 68,748, a record for the renovated stadium, and at least 90 percent seemed to be rooting for Colombia, a team that few believed would make much noise in Brazil.

Colombia’s ability to score was questioned since it was without its top-rated striker, Radamel Falcao, who was lost to a knee injury in January. But Colombia has more than made do without him, and its fans have made plenty of noise, both inside the stadiums and out.

First Colombia beat Greece, 3-0, with James Rodríguez scoring one of the goals.

The best soccer players in the world are converging in Brazil and The New York Times has you covered. We'll have a regular digest of news, highlights and context from Times reporters and editors.

On Thursday, Rodríguez, Colombia’s 22-year-old playmaker, scored the opening goal against Ivory Coast on a header off a corner kick in the 64th minute, and celebrated by doing a celebratory dance with his teammates along the touchline, as the fans made a deafening roar of delight.

“So many people rooting for you, it was extraordinary,” Rodríguez said. “It was very loud and it was in our favor so that Colombia could win.”

But the Ivorians found inspiration as well. During the national anthems, Serey Die was overcome with emotion and tears streamed down his cheeks. According to a press relations officer for Ivory Coast, Die’s father died in 2004, and he was thinking about him during the anthem.

Rodríguez’s goal came only four minutes after Ivory Coast brought in Didier Drogba, its most celebrated player, off the bench.

It is not true that more than 400.000 Colombians voted for Pékerman in Colombia’s presidential election last Sunday. Official reports early...

With Colombia leading, 1-0, Ivory Coast was careless when trying to bring the ball out of its own end, and was stripped. The ball was played forward to Teófilo Gutiérrez on a quick counterattack, and he pushed it forward on the right wing to Juan Quintero, who slotted into the goal with his left foot, initiating another dance.

With 20 minutes to play, things seemed bleak for Ivory Coast, but three minutes later its forward Gervinho scored a terrific goal, splitting two defenders near the side of the box and weaving around a third before powering home to the short side. His celebration was to urge his teammates back to the line for a kickoff, as time was running out.

There were several more opportunities for Ivory Coast late in the game, but Colombia held on for a victory that was destined to propel them where they had not been in 24 years.

“It is a huge pleasure to see Colombia at the World Cup after a long period of time,” Pékerman said. “Now, to have two consecutive victories, we have the tranquillity of 6 points.”