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WORLD CUP 2014

WORLD CUP

Italy stunned as Costa Rica advance

Minnows Costa Rica reached the second round of the World Cup finals as Bryan Ruiz's header saw them to a 1-0 win over Italy which also knocked Group D rivals England out of the competition on Friday.

Italy stunned as Costa Rica advance
Photo: AFP

Ruiz struck right at the end of the opening period in the match in Recife after the Costa Ricans had a valid appeal for a penalty waved away by the referee.

Costa Rica's victory saw them move onto six points in Group D and means that pointless England's slim hopes of getting second spot were extinguished as Uruguay and Italy, both on three points, play each other in their final game.

Italy's hopes of joining Costa Rica depend on them getting a point from the match with the Uruguayans.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said he felt sorry for England but that was as far as it went.

"I'm really sorry for them, but also for us!" said Prandelli.

"Because we also wanted to win. I don't have any messages for England. We have our own issues to solve."

For the Costa Ricans it is only the second time they have reached the last 16, the previous occasion being in the 1990 finals.

Italy's poor performance was encapsulated by the fact they had not gone goalless in a World Cup finals match since the 1998 edition in France.

Italy were a shadow of the side that beat England 2-1 last Saturday as they showed little sign of urgency throughout with misplaced passes and lackadaisical defending.

Italy had little to offer in the opening half save for a sublime Andrea Pirlo chip over the top of the Costa Rican defence which found Mario Balotelli in space on the half hour only for the AC Milan striker to loft his effort off target.

Balotelli, who scored the winner against England last Saturday, pounced on a deft header from Pirlo a minute later but Keylor Navas blocked the striker's fierce drive from the edge of the area.

As Italy wavered, Costa Rica kept the Italian defence on their toes. Arsenal's Joel Campbell looked to have won a cast iron penalty in the 43rd minute as he pounced on a mistake by Giorgio Chiellini and broke into the Italian penalty area where he was barged over by the Juventus defender.

Chilean referee Enrique Osses, however, waved away furious appeals by the Costa Ricans with Pinto going berserk on the touchline.

Barely two minutes later, Pinto was jumping for joy as his side got the goal they deserved.

Gianluigi Buffon, who sat out the England win due to an ankle knock, failed to come for a Junior Diaz cross to the far post and Ruiz produced a superb header which beat the 2006 World Cup winning goalkeeper and bounced over the line after hitting the underside of the bar.

Prandelli shook things up immediataly, introducing forward Antonio Cassano for Thiago Motta for the second-half.

But although Italy started the second half in brighter fashion, a Pirlo free kick hardly caused Navas any problems in the 53rd minute.

While the Italians tried to conjure up chances which came to nothing Pinto replaced Campbell with Marcos Urena on 74 minutes and his fresh legs almost made an impact.

Christian Gamboa did well to dispossess Pirlo outside the area and fed Ruiz on the right, but the Italian defence dealt with his delivery to Urena.

Costa Rica threatened again when Urena ran on to a long ball lofted from midfield, only for Chiellini to this time block the striker's shot on the edge of the area.

Italy's last chance was a drive from Cerci that smacked off the face of Giancarlo Gonzalez, but his effort — much like Italy's game all round — was offside.

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SPORT

Norway’s football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott

Will Norwegian football star Erling Braut Haaland stay home or play on what fans have dubbed a "cemetery?" This Sunday, a meeting of Norway's football community will decide whether to boycott next year's World Cup in Qatar.

Norway's football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott
Norway's forward Erling Haaland (L) and teammates wear jerseys reading "Fair play for migrant workers" before the international friendly football match between Norway and Greece at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga in preperation for the UEFA European Championships, on June 6, 2021. JORGE GUERRERO / AFP

Under pressure from grassroots activists the Norwegian Football Federation(NFF) has decided to hold an extraordinary congress to decide on whether to pass up football’s showpiece event all together.

The games on the pitches in the Middle Eastern emirate will “unfortunately be like playing on a cemetery,” according to Ole Kristian Sandvik, spokesman of the Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA), invoking a commonly used metaphor among opponents of Norway’s participation.

Norway, which has not qualified for a major international competition since Euro 2000, is currently fourth in its World Cup qualifying group behind Turkey, the Netherlands and Montenegro. 

So while qualification seems an uphill task, the result of the vote could have an impact on whether Norway and its young star Haaland — one of the rising stars of world football — continue to play qualifying matches. 

The movement calling for a boycott began north of the Arctic Circle when football club Tromso IL spoke out against turning a blind eye to alleged human rights abuses at the end of February.

“We can no longer sit and watch people die in the name of football,” the first division club proclaimed.

Qatar has faced criticism for its treatment of migrant workers, many of whom are involved in the construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, with campaigners accusing employers of exploitation and forcing labourers to work in dangerous conditions.

Qatari authorities meanwhile insist they have done more than any country in the region to improve worker welfare.

“There is no doubt that this World Cup should never have been awarded to Qatar,” Tom Hogli, a former professional footballer turned public relations officer for Tromso IL, told AFP.

“The conditions there are abominable and many have lost their lives,” he added.

In March, a spokesman for the Qatari organisers put the number of deaths on the construction sites at “three” since 2014, with another 35 having died away from their workplaces, challenging the heavy toll reported by some rights groups.

Push from fans
The Tromso call began gathering pace in Norway, where clubs operate under a democratic structure, and under pressure from fans, many teams now say “nei” (no).

According to Sandvik, the fans feel that the deaths on the World Cup sites would have been avoided “if they had not had to build hotels, railways and stadiums”.

Nearly half of Norwegians, 49 percent, now say they are in favour of a boycott, while only 29 percent are against it, according to a poll published by newspaper VG on Wednesday.

The Nordic country’s national squad has already protested conditions in Qatar, but stopped short of calling for a boycott.

Before recent Norway games, Borussia Dortmund superstar Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard and the rest of the team have worn t-shirts with slogans like “Human rights on and off the pitch.”

Other countries, like Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark have also followed suit.

FIFA, on the other hand, argue that awarding the hosting of the World Cup in Qatar has opened the door to social progress.

“We know there is still work to be done, but we need to recognise the significant progress achieved in a very short time,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in May.

‘Few successes’ 
While the executive committee of the NFF have said they regret Qatar being awarded the World Cup, they oppose a boycott.

President Terje Svendsen said he thought it was “not the right tool to improve the human rights situation or the working conditions in Qatar,” when speaking at the federation’s ordinary annual congress in March.

According to the NFF, a boycott could end up costing Norway 205 million Norwegian kroner ($24 million, 20 million euros) in fines and compensation as well as lost revenue.

Feeling the pressure from grassroots campaigns, the NFF referred the matter to an extraordinary congress which on Sunday will bring together the eight members of its executive committee, representatives of 18 districts and of hundreds of professional and amateur clubs.

The discussions will be revolve around the findings of an expert committee which, with the exception of two members representing fans, has also come out against a boycott.

“For a boycott to succeed, you need a critical mass behind it, an opposition that calls for it in the country, the UN to put pressure on the
authorities, the business world, the trade unions and civil society to put pressure on it in the long term,” committee chairman Sven Mollekleiv said in a debate hosted by broadcaster TV2.

“Historically, there are few successes,” he said.

Rather than a boycott, the committee recommended 26 measures to consolidate and further the gains made in Qatar but also to ensure that FIFA doesn’t become complicit in so called “sportswashing” — the polishing of a country’s public image through a major sporting event.

Some initial supporters of a boycott, like Tromso’s Hogli, have since sided with these conclusions, although calls for a complete boycott remain.

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