The defeat was bitter pill for the girls, who had to say goodbye to the FIFA U-17 World Cup, after being eliminated 1-0 by Italy at the National Stadium Tuesday night.
With the loss, Costa Rica, the first Central American country to ever host the FIFA U-17 World Cup event, will have to sit it out.
Italy’s Gloria Marinelli scored the lone goal of the game in the 19th minute of play.
Although it is heartbreaking to see the Ticas lose, Italy deserved the win, based on the performance on the field, taking the lead and then was able to maintain it without stress without too much effort.
Coupled with Venezuela’s win over Zambia (also on Tuesday), the Italians and Venezuelans advance to quarterfinals play. The two eliminated teams – Costa Rica and Zambia – will play Saturday in their farewell game.
More than 35.000 fans supported Costa Rica in its inaugural match (losing to Venezuela 3-0), with strong support of 20.000 plus fans on Tuesday.
