World Cup Daily: Suarez bite takes the shine off Uruguay win

Luis Suarez may have finally bitten of more than he can chew, Italy have joined England and Spain on the European scrap heap and Jackson Martinez has boosted his credentials of landing the Golden Boot.

Last night’s fixtures saw Uruguay join Costa Rica in the knockout stages, while Greece – as predicted by Jack Beresford – made sure of qualification with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast and are now 2/1 to beat Costa Rica in the next round.

In the Headlines

Luis Suarez is once again the talk of the football world for all the wrong reasons after sinking his teeth into an opponent for the third time in his career.

All the early talk is of a two-year worldwide football ban which could leave the Liverpool forward’s dream of moving to Real Madrid, not to mention the Reds’ Champions League hopes, in tatters.

Hitting the headlines for the right reasons though were two men named Samaras (well sort of). Substitute Andreas Samaris came off the bench to put Greece ahead in their crunch decider with Ivory coast before Wilfried Bony levelled.

Reported Everton target Georgios Samaras then fired his side into the knockout stages with a late penalty taken with the calmness and precision that would have been beyond any England player put in a similar situation.

The England Camp

After promising to go out with a bang and restore some national pride England limped out of the World Cup with a 0-0 bore draw against surprise Group D winners Costa Rica.

The game was billed as a view to the future after Roy Hodgson made nine changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Uruguay.

Adam Lallana, Jack Wilshere and Ross Barkley showed glimpses of what Three Lions fans have to look forward to but after a game in which England mustered just one shot on target the general feeling of optimism that has followed England’s campaign finally gave way to impending doom.

Injury List

France could be without Mamadou Sakho and Raphael Varane for tonight’s dead rubber with Ecuador with the former limping out of the win over Switzerland with a thigh problem and the latter suffering a bout of gastroenteritis.

Switzerland will be without defender Steve von Bergen after he suffered a fractured cheekbone in the defeat by France, while Nigeria could welcome back centre-back Godfrey Oboabona after a swift recovery from the ankle injury that ruled him out of the win over against Bosnia.

Fan Watch

England’s fans were commended for getting behind the team during the Costa Rica game and for giving a standing ovation at the final whistle.

Some sections of the media painted a picture of patriotic optimism but for those who had travelled to Brazil cheering the team on was really their only option.

Back in England though, a more accurate reflection of the mood could be gained from the countless empty pubs and public screenings of England’s final game of the tournament.

In Other News

In one of the more bizarre stories to emerge from the World Cup, Rolling Stones front-man Mick Jagger is being blamed for Italy’s departure from the tournament.

The It’s All Over Now singer has become the object of ridicule in Brazil after a series of his predictions proved you can’t always get what you want.

At a concert in Lisbon in May Jagger tipped Portugal to win the tournament – they are currently facing an early exit.

He then tipped England to beat Uruguay, and we all know what happened there, before finally telling 70,000 fans in Rome that Italy would beat the South Americans in last night’s decider!

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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