TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2014 FAN FERVOR Portugal grab last-gasp equaliser to stay alive MANAUS: Portuguese substitute Silvestre Varela scored deep into stoppage-time to secure a dramatic 2-2 draw with the United States in World Cup Group G on Sunday and keep his team’s hopes alive. Just as it looked as though the Preview Americans had pulled off a come-from-behind victory to qualify for the second round and eliminate their opponents, Varela converted a Cristiano Ronaldo cross with a powerful flying header. Italy look to avoid The result of another wildly entertaining World Cup match means that after two games the US are in second place, level with Germany on more humiliation four points. Portugal are joint bottom with Ghana on one point and face a tough task to make the next round. NATAL: Four-time champions Italy admitted they are strug- “Conceding a late goal was a bummer that we have to swallow. We felt very gling with the weather conditions ahead of their clash with confident after we turned it around. It ended in a tie but overall I think it was an Uruguay in Natal today where they will try to avoid being amazing game,” US coach Juergen Klinsmann told a news conference. eliminated in the first round at successive World Cups. The Americans, who made the second round in 2010, face Germany in the final game and need a point to ensure qualification. A win for the South Americans would send Cesare The US scored late to beat Ghana 2-1 in the first game and Clint Dempsey Prandelli’s side crashing out at the first hurdle, four years after looked to have repeated the feat in the 81st minute, steering the ball home bowing out at the group stage as then world with his stomach to give his team the lead. champions in South Africa. Portugal lost their first game 4-0 to Germany and coach Paulo Bento said The Azzurri require just his team had to beat the Americans. Portugal opened the scoring in the fifth a draw to go through, but minute when U.S. defender Geoff Cameron swung a foot at a Miguel Veloso after a lifeless display in a cross and succeeded only in slicing the ball across his own area right to the feet of 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica, Nani, who scored easily. The Europeans then sat back in the heat and humidity, captain Gianluigi Buffon allowing their opponents to start dominating. hinted that the hot The temperature in the Amazonia arena was 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) at kick- and humid conditions have off with a humidity reading of 65 percent. taken their toll. Portugal still looked dangerous and Nani “Once we’ve fin- hit the left-hand post in the 45th minute from ished training today we’ll see outside the area. The ball rebounded to Eder what kind of condition we are but his looping shot was brilliantly scooped in,” said Buffon. “I think a lot over the bar by U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard. of European teams are As the second half progressed the struggling compared to Portuguese wilted and it was little surprise when U.S. midfielder Jermaine Jones cut in from the left in the 64th minute, the Latin Americans. brushed past Nani and fired in a superb right-foot curling shot from 25 metres to “But that isn’t an excuse. The climate is the same for all of our oppo- equalise. nents.” “We conceded a second goal through our mistakes. I guess a draw was a fair If there is belief that Latin Americans sides are coping better than result in the end although it left us in a very difficult situation,” said Bento. teams from Europe in such a testing climate, Group D is arguably a good Portugal started with Ronaldo, who has been trying to shake off a knee injury. indicator. He was ineffective against the Germans and looked well below full fitness against Costa Rica host England on Tuesday looking for their third consecu- the Americans, contributing little until the very end. The United States were only a tive group win having fought back from a goal down to stun Uruguay 3- few minutes away from notching another surprise World Cup win over Portugal. In 2002, they beat the Europeans 3-2 in the group stage and went all the way to the 1, before outplaying a visibly jaded Italy in Recife on Friday. quarter-finals. Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio said after the defeat: “In the Portugal go into the final game with Ghana looking short of firepower. They lost second half we suffered, the heat made it difficult to remain lucid.” striker Hugo Almeida in the first game and his replacement Helder Postiga lasted Uruguay bounced back from that shock reverse with a far improved per- only 15 minutes on Sunday before he came off holding his thigh. formance to beat England 2-1 thanks to a Luis Suarez double. Varela’s goal was the second time he has struck late for Portugal at a major tour- “They’ve managed to relaunch their campaign by beating England nament. In Euro 2012, he scored an 87th-minute winner against Denmark in a first- and now the whole of Uruguay believes they can beat us and go round game.—Reuters through,” added Buffon, who said Italy will have to be wary of Liverpool striker Suarez. “We know plenty about (striker Edinson) Cavani thanks to his time at Napoli. But we know less about Suarez.” “Now, we have to send some Preview positive signals and the only way to do that is to raise our game against Uruguay. “We need to show some strength and pride and come up with a win. England seek to We need cool heads but also to be highly motivated. “If we end up going out in the first round, it will be a failure.” With restore pride Costa Rica already through and England eliminated by the Italians’ defeat in Recife, Italy and Uruguay-who both have three points-have RIO DE JANEIRO: England return to Belo Horizonte today, scene of the been left to battle for the second qualifying spot. country’s greatest sporting humiliation, where they will attempt to restore Due to an inferior goal difference, Uruguay need a win if they are to pride against Costa Rica after another chastening World Cup experience. have a chance of repeating their exploits of 2010 when current coach Belo Horizonte’s Estadio Independencia provided the setting for Oscar Tabarez steered the 1950 champions to their first semi-finals England’s sensational 1-0 loss to the part-timers of the United States at the appearance in 40 years. 1950 World Cup-a game latterly dubbed ‘The Miracle Match’. After their win against England, spirits are high in the ‘Celeste’ camp. “I Sixty-four years on, England are braced for another day to forget in the city, although with today’s game taking place at the Estadio Mineirao, they have a group who are used to resisting pressure and who react to it in a will at least be spared a reunion with the ghosts of 1950. Roy Hodgson’s good way,” said Tabarez. side had hoped to be heading into their final Group D fixture vying for a “The pressure was worse against England, or do you think that we’d last-16 place, but their tournament is already over after consecutive 2-1 gone shopping?” But Tabarez, who spent spells with AC Milan and defeats by Italy and Uruguay. Cagliari in the 1990s, acknowledges the challenge the Azzurri pose. Instead, it is Costa Rica who have secured a berth in the knockout “They’ve been world champions four times and we have a lot of phase, thanks to stunning wins over the two teams who accounted for respect for them. It will be a tough challenge for us but I believe we’ll England, and the Central Americans now require a point to claim top spot. have our chances,” said the 67-year-old. England striker Wayne Rooney has called on his side to “restore some pride” on Tuesday, but Hodgson says that his chief priority will be to give playing Italy have had barely three days to digest defeat to Costa Rica, recu- time to those players who have watched from the sidelines until now. perate spent forces and get in the right frame of mind. It is only a year “I’m going to be picking (the team) with a view that all the players who since last the two sides met in the Confederations Cup, drawing 2-2 in are with us get some minutes on the field,” Hodgson told a press confer- the match for third place before Italy won 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out. ence in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. “It’s going to be an especially challenging match. We played them last “I will be changing the team to give others a chance to show what they year in the Confederations Cup and after we played well for 35 minutes, can do. It’s not purely planning for the future and not purely sentiment. they took over,” said Prandelli. —AFP “It’s to give players a chance to go home from this World Cup-too early, bitterly disappointed-but to be able to say they weren’t here to make up the numbers, they actually took part.” Hodgson has revealed that Leighton Baines and Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain will both miss the match through injury, while Frank Lampard is expected to come into the team for captain Steven Gerrard.