England end their World Cup campaign without a win
Costa Rica's goalkeeper Keylor Navas grabs the ball as England's Daniel Sturridge lies on the ground (Photo: AP)
Belo Horizonte: Tournament sensations Costa Rica drew 0-0 with England in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday to top World Cup Group D unbeaten and leave their winless opponents bottom of the table.
The Central American outsiders had already defied the tag of minnows to record stunning wins over both Uruguay and Italy, taking them into the last 16 for the first time since their maiden World Cup in 1990.
The draw against England allowed them to secure first place, while Uruguay seized second spot with a 1-0 win against 10-man Italy in Natal."We're very satisfied," said Costa Rica's Colombian coach Jorge Luis Pinto.
"England are one of the main teams in the world. They're real champions, so we know it'd be a difficult game. We were able to get a point. "I thought it was a very even game. We have proved we can play good football and this makes me feel proud."
Sixty-four years on from their humiliating 1-0 loss to the United States in the city, a youthful and much-changed England side were unable to restore pride after their earliest World Cup exit since 1958.
Manager Roy Hodgson made nine changes to his starting XI, notably handing first competitive starts to 18-year-old Luke Shaw and 20-year-old Ross Barkley, but his side laboured in the Estadio Mineirao sunshine.Hodgson, however, struck an upbeat note, saying: "Apart from the first 10 to 12 minutes, we dominated totally.
"We didn't take our goal chances. If we did, we would have comfortably won. We created the chances and that's important. "I thought we were really unlucky not to win this game. I thought the whole back four was absolutely excellent. We restricted the team to almost no chances. In midfield we dominated and outplayed them."
Further emphasising the mood of change for England, Frank Lampard captained the team and Steven Gerrard came on for what are likely to have been their final international appearances.
But the day belonged to Costa Rica. Pinto's side had already qualified thanks to their wins over Uruguay and Italy and they can now look forward to a likely last-16 encounter with the Ivory Coast, whose group concludes later on Tuesday.
( Source : AFP )
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