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WORLD CUP 2014

FOOTBALL

Italy clinches World Cup win against England

Italy on Saturday battled rainforest temperatures to beat England 2-1 in their first game of the World Cup in Brazil.

Italy clinches World Cup win against England
Italy's midfielder Claudio Marchisio celebrates after scoring during the match between England and Italy. Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP

Italy's Claudio Marchisio put Italy 1-0 up in the first half, in the 35th minute, only for Daniel Andre Sturridge to score for England two minutes later.

Mario Balotelli secured victory for his side just five minutes into the second half of the game, held in the rainforest city of Manaus.

The Group D match was the first competitive encounter between the teams since Italy beat England on penalties in the quarter-finals of the 2012 European Championship.

In August last year, England edged Italy 2-1 in a friendly.

Teams

England

Joe Hart; Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines; Steven Gerrard (capt), Jordan Henderson; Raheem Sterling, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck; Daniel Sturridge

Coach: Roy Hodgson

Italy

Salvatore Sirigu; Matteo Darmian, Andrea Barzagli, Gabriel Paletta, Giorgio Chiellini; Daniele De Rossi; Antonio Candreva, Andrea Pirlo (capt), Marco Verratti, Claudio Marchisio; Mario Balotelli

Coach: Cesare Prandelli

SEE ALSO: Ten of Italy's golden World Cup moments

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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