Fresh from the 2-1 triumph over England, Italy take on Costa Rica hoping to clinch the qualifying berth and virtually secure the first place in the standings. After giving their all in adverse weather conditions in Manaus, the Azzurri should have a much easier task in the second group game.
Costa Rica did prove to be a very difficult side to beat, taking advantage of Luis Suarez’s absence to defeat Uruguay 3-1, but surely they cannot be expected to repeat a similar result against highly experienced Italy side.
Having scored the winner against England, Mario Balotelli will again be in charge of leading the line, and with the AC Milan star already scoring 6 goals in 10 games at major tournaments, he looks a good bet to open the scoring against Costa Rica, especially with Ladbrokes having a special price of 6/1 on Balotelli to score the first goal of the game.
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