After the first two matches of Uruguay vs. Costa Rica and Columbia vs. Greece, there were two more matches. Next match was Italy vs. England.Shocked that Costa Rica won, both teams wanted the three points.Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was out due to an injury. England had many chances in the first half, but saves from Salvatore Sirigu, the replacement, stopped them. Italy scored in the 35th minute when Claudio Marchisio scored from a pass by Andrea Pirlo. He scored by beating a crowd of players into the bottom corner. Two minutes later, England got level when Daniel Sturridge scored on a cross by Wayne Rooney. Mario Balotelli made his first World Cup appearence and nearly scored on a chip shot blocked by Phil Jagielka and a shot from Antonio Candreva hit the post. In the 50th, Balotelli headed in a goal from Gary Cahill `s cross for the lead. England had many scoring chances, but Italy held on for a 2-1 win.
The last match of the day was Ivory Coast vs. Japan. This was a must win for both teams if they wanted to advance to the Round of 16. In the 16th minute, Keisuke Honda of Japan scored just inside the box into the top right corner. Didier Drogba, the main star for Ivory Coast, came in the the second half and sparked a comeback. In the 64th minute, Ivory Coast scored Wilfried Bony scored on a header from a cross by Serge Aurier. Two minutes later, Aurier crossed it again for Gervinho scored as it deflected off Eiji Kawashima, the Japanese goalkeeper and hit off the right post. Japan could not do anything to score again, and Ivory Coast got the three points. In Group C, Costa Rica and Italy are first with three points, while England and Uruguay are last. In Group D, Columbia and Ivory Coast are first with three points, while Greece and Japan are now tied for last.
You may want to consider listing simple bullet list of final scores - that way readers can get the stats fast. They may not read your whole article, but you'll still get the page hit.
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