Recaps of June 20: Ecuador Comeback Against Honduras, France Easily Wins, Costa Rica Shocks Again

There were three matches today, with the first being Italy vs. Costa Rica. Costa Rica previously shocked Uruguay and shocked Italy too. Christian Bolanos of Costa Rica shot a long strike in the 36th minute, and Oscar Duarte headed one over. Bryan Ruiz scored the only goal when Junior Diaz crossed it for him to head it in off the crossbar in the 44th minute. A minute before, Joel Campbell of Costa Rica fell in the penalty box and it wasn`t a penalty. In the 33rd Mario Balotelli  shot it but went straight at Costa Rican keeper Keylor Navas. Andrea Pirlo shot in the 53rd with a curling shot which Navas saved. In stoppage time Costa Rica`s Randall Brenes curled one just wide but Costa Rica won 1-0 and advanced to the next round.
The next game was France vs. Swiss. France scored in the 17th minute when Olivier Giroud scored on a header from a Mathieu Valbuena corner. It doubled 60 seconds later when Blaise Matuidi got a pass from Karim Benzema and shot it at the near post. Karim Benzema of France nearly made it 3-0 on a penalty, but his shot was saved by Swiss keeper Diego Benagolio. Yohan Cabaye hit the crossbar on the rebound. In the 40th, France scored again when Giroud passed it to Valbuena, who fired it at the back post. Haris Seferovic of Switzerland shot one over in the 46th. Benzema made it 4-0 when he got the ball from and shot it through Benaglio`s legs to score. Moussa Sissoko made it 5-0 when Benzema crossed it for him to tap in at the back post. Benzema and Valbuena shot more in the 76th, but those WERE saved. Swiss scored in the 81st when Blerim Dzemaili shot it low on a free kick that sneaked past French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for a goal. In the 86th, Granit Xhaka made it 5-2 when he scored on a volley for the final score.
The last match was Honduras vs. Ecuador, who both lost their first games. In the 19th minute, Enner Valencia of Ecuador got a long pass and was one on one with Honduras keeper Noel Valladares, but his shot misses high and wide. Honduras scored in the 31st when Carlo Costly got the ball from a poor Ecuador clearance, allowing him to score low past Ecuador keeper Alex Dominguez. It was the first Honduras WC goal in 511 WC minutes, six shy of the WC record. In the 34th, Ecuador tied when Valencia scored near the goal at his near post when a shot was deflected. Honduras had shots blocked from a free kick and Bengston pushed the ball over the line when it hit the post, but it was a hand ball. Brayan Beckeles of Honduras had his high shot saved in the 46th, and Bengston deflected shot was saved in the 60th. Another Honduras goal was offside in the 62nd. Ecuador scored the winning goal in the 65th when Waltor Ayovi shot a free kick to Valencia to head in and hold on for the win.