Joel Campbell played 74 minutes as Costa Rica secured a surprise 1-0 victory against Italy in Recife on Friday.
The Arsenal forward was a lively presence and should have been awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute after he was barged over by Giorgio Chiellini, but the referee waved play on.
Sixty seconds later justice was done as Costa Rica scored the only goal of the game when Junior Diaz picked out Bryan Ruiz, who headed in off the underside of the bar.
Campbell continued to test Cesare Prandelli’s side with his pace and willing running, and he remained a bright spark throughout.
Italy pushed on in search of an equaliser in the second half, but could not break down Jorge Luis Pinto’s highly-organised side.
Matteo Darmian forced a flying save from Keylor Navas in the 51st minute, while the Costa Rica keeper also beat away Andrea Pirlo’s free kick soon afterwards.
Campbell was replaced by Marco Urena in the 74th minute after a hard-working display and watched on as his side sealed a famous result.
Costa Rica are next in action on Tuesday, when they face England.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
