half with four. ... Nowitzki scored 15 in the first half. ... The Celtics shot 2

RECIFE, Brazil -- Costa Rica has turned the table on the teams World Cup expectations. Starling Marte Jersey . 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). Kent Tekulve Jersey . However, Jim Popp isnt sure how long hell be able to admire wide receiver Duron Carter. Jung-ho Kang Jersey . The Gatineau Olympiques head coach will lead Canada in its quest to end its gold medal drought at the 2015 world junior hockey championship held in Montreal and Toronto at the end of this year. http://www.piratesrookiestore.com/Pirates-Dave-Parker-Kids-Jersey/ .C. - Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek says guard Goran Dragic will return to the starting lineup against the Charlotte Hornets after missing the last two games with a strained back.BOSTON -- Putting together a five-game winning streak and getting 10 games above .500 were once common achievements for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, both are season highs as Dallas slowly works its way back into playoff contention in the Western Conference. Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, Shawn Marion finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Mavericks beat the Boston Celtics 102-91 Sunday night to extend their winning streak to five straight. "There are encouraging signs, but theres no way we can exhale or start feeling good," coach Rick Carlisle said. Jose Calderon added 18 points and Monta Ellis played through a sore hamstring and scored 11 for Dallas, which won for the sixth time in seven games and pulled 10 games above .500 for the first time this season at 31-21. "Were looking to move up," Nowitzki said. "If you look at the standings, (places) five through eight is only separated by a couple of games. Wed love to keep pushing." Vince Carter scored 14, Devin Harris had 12 points and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 11 rebounds for Dallas. The Mavericks led by six at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring the Celtics 28-18. "The third quarter and the start of the fourth killed us and took us out of the game," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for Boston, which had won three straight games. Jeff Green scored 18 and Jared Sullinger had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics. Boston managed to stay close through the first half despite shooting 27 per cent, then Dallas took command early in the third quarter and pulled ahead by as many as 24 points before the Celtics rallied when it was too late. "We still kept it close. That was the beauty of it," Sullinger said. "We played hard, but they just got awway and the deficit was so big we couldnt dig ourselves out of that hole. Willie Stargell Jersey. ." The Mavericks opened the second half on a 16-5 run, holding the Celtics to two field goals through the first 6:29 of the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Green got Boston within 53-43, but Calderon answered from beyond the arc and Marion and Dalembert followed with layups to extend the Mavericks lead to 60-43. "In the third quarter, we were doing the same kind of defence, but now we were sharing the ball and making open shots and thats what the difference was," Calderon said. Bostons only scoring run in the period was a 4-0 spurt late on layups by Kris Humphries and Kelly Olynyk, which Dallas negated in the last minute on two foul shots by Harris and an alley-oop from Harris to Brandan Wright with 5 seconds remaining to give the Mavericks a 72-56 lead entering the fourth. Wright opened the fourth with another alley-oop from Carter, who added a layup for Dallas eighth point in a row and the Mavericks lead was up to 76-56. The Celtics put together a late run to make it close down the stretch before running out of time. Rondo and Green hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Boston within 96-84 with 2:25 remaining. Johnson added another 3-pointer with 1:18 to get the Celtics within 98-89, but Calderon hit a layup to put the Mavericks back up by double-digits. NOTES: Olynyk finished with 14 points and Humphries scored 10 for Boston. ... Marion got his seventh double-double of the season. ... The Mavericks had one other four-game winning streak this season, but had reached five beating Utah on Friday and Boston on Sunday. ... Rondo was the only Boston starter to make more than two field goals in the first half with four. ... Nowitzki scored 15 in the first half. ... The Celtics shot 27 per cent (13 for 48) in the first half and opened the third quarter 2 for 10. 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