Here is a round up of Day Three of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
COLOMBIA 3 GREECE 0
Colombia were brilliant in their first World Cup appearance in 16 years, blowing past Group C rivals Greece 3-0 with goals from Pablo Armero, Teofilo Gutierrez, and James Rodriguez. Cafeteros midfielder Rodriguez starred in the victory as he played a role in the creation of all three of his team's goals. As clinical as the Colombians were in their finishing, however, the wasteful Greek attack was unable to get on the board despite showing some promise going forward. Greece have failed to find the back of the net in six of their last seven World Cup matches.
COSTA RICA 3 URUGUAY 1
Costa Rica provided the 2014 FIFA World Cup with its first true upset as they defeated 2010 semifinalist Uruguay 3-1. The Uruguayans took the lead in the 24th minute off a penalty kick from Edinson Cavani. The Ticos responded in the second half with two goals in three minutes as Joel Campbell and Oscar Duarte tallied in the 54th and 57th minutes respectively to put Costa Rica ahead 2-1. Although Uruguay committed numbers forward to try and pull level, Costa Rica added an exclamation point with a goal in the waning moments by second half substitute Marco Ureña.
ITALY 2 ENGLAND 1
Claudio Marchisio and Mario Balotelli scored as Italy defeated England 2-1 in a battle of UEFA powers in the Amazonian metropolis of Manaus. Marchisio gave the Italians a short-lived lead in the 35th minute with a blast from beyond 20 yards, but Daniel Sturridge drew England level just two mintues later with a clever finish past Italian goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu. Five minutes into the second half, Italy took the lead for good as a loosely-marked Mario Balotelli nodded a header past goalkeeper Joe Hart for the game-winning goal.
IVORY COAST 2 JAPAN 1
Ivory Coast battled back from an early deficit to defeat Japan 2-1 in the two nations' Group C opener. Japan took the lead after 16 minutes when Keisuke Honda lashed a shot from close range into the Ivorian net. However, the Elephants battled back to equalize in the 64th minute when Wilfied Bony placed a glancing header past Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. Ivory Coast pulled ahead for good just two minutes later when Gervinho fired a shot into the lower corner to seal three points for the African nation.
The World Cup returns with three matches on Sunday. The action begins at 9:00 a.m. PT with Switzerland vs. Ecuador before continuing with France vs. Honduras at 12:00 p.m. PT. The final match of the evening will see tournament favorite Argentina face Bosnia and Herzegovina at 3:00 p.m. PT.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
