With Costa Rica's stunning victory against Italy this World Cup is beginning to turn into the Copa America.
While former champions Spain and England are already eliminate, all the Latin American sides are still alive and the small Central American nation is threatening to rob Brazil of its traditional role as everyone’s second team.
"Costa Rica defeats Italy, eliminates England and ratifies the force of the continent in the tournament," observes the Folha de S.Paulo today. 'Costarricazo' was the front page verdict of Olé on Italy's shock defeat.
Brazilian sports daily Lance! celebrated Costa Rica's victory with a cinematic headline: 'Die Hard'. "Costa Rica defeats another world champion, this time Italy, and is the first to qualify from the group of death."
"For now the rhythm is Latin, lots of salsa and merengue," writes former Argentine star Juan Pablo Sorin in La Nacion.
Not that anyone thought the Costa Rican victory was unmerited. “The coast is rich. There is no more doubt . . . The Ticos once again compensated for their limitations by giving a demonstration of tactical application, guaranteed a spot in the next round and silenced three world champions,” wrote Lance!’s Roberto Assaf.
How to explain the early success of the Latin American teams after the two previous tournaments produced just one miserly semi-finalist from the region? O Globo dismisses the Brazilian winter sun as an excuse.
“Of the six Latin victories only Colombia against Greece and Costa Rica against Italy were played under strong sun,” the paper notes, as if the sun never shines on the Mediterranean.
Instead there is widespread acknowledgement of the role of the huge travelling support the Latin teams have brought to Brazil, hosting the region's first tournament since Mexico in 1986. "They and the players all feel at home," observed former Brazil star Tostão in his column in Folha de S.Paulo.
But the reasons he believes go deeper. “I have the old impression that the South Americans have more desire, pride, to play for their national sides than the Europeans,” he writes, mentioning the pressure and appeal of regional patriotism. “There is also a hidden (or open) desire for self-validation, to show the world that we are behind in many things but that in football we are more passionate and better.”
All that remains now is for Brazil to properly join the party after a stuttering start against Croatia and Mexico yielded an unconvincing win and a goalless draw. Felipão and his players have spent the days since the Mexico game dismissing criticism of the team’s performance but the place of striker Fred is now supposedly under threat.
The immobile attacker has received a large dose of the blame from the local media for the team’s ropey start with his only achievement of note conning a penalty out of the referee in the opening match. Fred is now though training with the reserves with the more mobile Jô in line to take his place.
