Boxer! Paulo Wanchope Resigns

Paulo Wanchope has relinquished his duties as Costa Rica coach after being involved in a fight following an Olympic qualifying match.

Costa Rica coach Paulo Wanchope has resigned his post after being caught on camera fighting with a man following Tuesday's Olympic qualifier against Panama.

The 39-year-old became embroiled in a scuffle with a man, seemingly over the refusal to allow Wanchope onto the field on play, with punches and kicks thrown by both.

Boxer: Costa Rica Coach Paulo Wanchope Involved In Fight With Fan

Paulo Wanchope was involved in a fight that may cost him his job as Costa Rica coach. Costa Rica coach Paulo Wanchope has exchanged blows with a man after an Olympic qualifier on Tuesday.

Wanchope, already under pressure after a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final exit, was videoed fighting a man after his nation's under-23 side drew with Panama.

The 39-year-old former striker was stopped by the man from entering the field of play before forcing open the gate.

GOLD CUP: CONCACAF Accepts Referee Errors In Semi Final Clash After Petitions

The decision to award Mexico a penalty late in their Gold Cup semi-final win over Panama was a wrong one, CONCACAF have admitted but the body won't reverse the decision. 

CONCACAF have admitted errors were made in Mexico's controversial semi-final win over Panama in the Gold Cup. American referee Mark Geiger's decision to award Miguel Herrera's side a penalty in the 89th-minute was met with a temporary walk-off protest from Panama's players.

Following the match, Costa Rica - denied by a dubious penalty call in the quarter-finals against Mexico - joined forces with Panama to lobby FIFA and CONCACAF to investigate whether any match-fixing had taken place.

GOLD CUP: Jamaica, Costa Rica Qualify For Quarter Finals

Jamaica scored a late winning goal while Costa Rica needed only a scoreless draw as both teams advanced from Group B to the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Gold Cup on Tuesday.

Jamaica's Garath McCleary tapped in a rebound in the 72nd minute to help his team beat El Salvador 1-0 and clinch the group with seven points. McCleary's second goal of the tournament set up a quarterfinal clash against Haiti.

El Salvador could have clinched a berth to the quarterfinals with a win but could not score. The Jamaicans prevailed despite needing three goal keepers and lost Darren Mattocks to a second yellow card in the 81st minute.

"I Don't Like It When They Boo A Spain Player" - Del Bosque

Vicente del Bosque assessed Spain's win over Costa Rica and commented on fans booing Piqué at the Reino de León stadium.

On fans booing Piqué: "I'm here to talk about the game. I personally don't think it's important. He's an intelligent lad and it won't affect how he plays. I don't like it when they boo a Spain player because when they do they're booing the whole team".

On Aleix Vidal: "He has an ankle injury and I don't think he'll be fit to face Belarus. That's the downside of this match".

Kevin Navas Set To Rival Casillas & Lopez At Real Madrid

Levante goalkeeper Keylor Navas has hinted that a move to Real Madrid is just "around the corner" and predicts it will be sorted within a week.

The 27-year-old had an impressive 2013-14 Liga campaign then was one of the standout players in the World Cup in Brazil, where he helped Costa Rica to reach the quarter-finals which his performances between the posts.

A move to Real Madrid has been heavily rumoured since the end of the World Cup, despite nothing official being announced, and Navas revealed that his future will be solidified in the coming seven days.

WORLD CUP 2014: Fabio Cannavaro Blasts Disrespectful Louis Van Gaal

Fabio Cannavaro has criticised Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal’s decision to take off goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen before his side's World Cup quarter-final shoot-out against Costa Rica, insisting the plaudits he is getting are undeserved.

The Oranje boss brought Tim Krul on in place of his starting goalkeeper in the last minute of extra-time in the last-eight tie as he believed the Newcastle United man would be better suited for spot kicks than Ajax's No.1.

Krul then saved two out of five penalties to put his country through - with Van Gaal earning praise in many quarters for the bold decision late in the game - but World Cup 2006 winner Cannavaro had an opposing stance on the topic.

NETHERLANDS vs COSTA RICA PREVIEW: All The Facts You Need To Know

Netherlands have won 10 of their last 11 World Cup matches, with the only blip in this run being their 2010 final defeat against Spain.

Costa Rica are unbeaten in four World Cup games for the very first time (W2 D2).

Los Ticos became the first CONCACAF team since the USA in 2002 to reach the quarter-final phase of the World Cup.

JORGE LUIS PINTO: Costa Rica's World Cup Success Is All About Jose Mourinho

Costa Rica's fairytale run to their first ever World Cup quarterfinal owes a lot to the coaching philosophy of Portugal's 'Special One' Jose Mourinho, admits their Colombian coach Jorge Luis Pinto.

Mourinho may never have been a national coach but his success mainly with Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan has rubbed off on 61-year-old Pinto, who along with his unheralded team has been the biggest surprise of the finals.

Victories over former champions Uruguay and Italy and a draw with England in the final group game and a courageous win on penalties over Greece in the last 16 has given their last eight opponents the Netherlands a lot to think about.

WORLD CUP 2014: Costa Rica vs Greece Preview

Proof that this will go down as the single greatest World Cup finals in living memory arrived in the final game of Group C, when Greece beat Ivory Coast to reach the last 16 at the Africans' expense with a penalty so deep into that game that it was almost in this one. The sight of a Greece team attacking their opponents with reckless abandon confirmed there must be something in the air over in Brazil.

Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised. Despite being drawn in the same group as Colombia and Ivory Coast, the 2004 Euro champions arrived with hopes of reaching the last 16, even if no-one outside of Greece agreed. "It is a very open group," said coach Fernando Santos before a ball had been kicked. "You might say that Colombia has a 55% edge over the rest, with the other teams at 45%."

The Greeks illustrated their resilience by recovering from a 3-0 defeat in the opening game against those Colombians to scrape through at the very death – Giorgos Samaras' penalty (his first goal in 1,478 minutes) edging them onto four points, enough to steal second place.

COSTA RICA vs ENGLAND PREVIEW: All You Need To Know

This will be the first ever meeting between Costa Rica and England.

If Costa Rica avoid defeat, they will finish as the top team in Group D.

Costa Rica have scored in all seven of their previous World Cup meetings with teams from Europe.

WORLD CUP: Diego Maradona Hails "Refreshing" Costa Rica

Diego Maradona says he has been impressed by Costa Rica's attacking style, praising the fact that they could beat Italy and Uruguay with flair.

The Central American nation have qualified for the last-16 of a World Cup finals for just the second time in their history after shock 3-1 and 1-0 wins over la Celetse and the Azzurri respectively.

However, what has particularly struck Maradona is that Jorge Luis Pinto's side have refused to play "boring" football and have succeeded in taking on some of the established nations without solely being defensive.

CESARE PRANDELLI: Italy Deserved To Loose Against Costa Rica

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli offered no excuses for his side's 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica on Friday, but insisted there was "no need to panic" despite his side’s chances of World Cup progression taking a severe hit.

A victory in Recife would have put the Azzurri in a strong position in Group D but instead it was Los Ticos who advanced into the round of 16 thanks to Bryan Ruiz’s first-half header.

Italy will join them if they can avoid defeat to Uruguay on Tuesday with Prandelli trying to remain optimistic despite a defeat few saw coming.

ITALY 0 COSTA RICA 1: Watch The Goal Here

                                 

ITALY vs COSTA RICA PREVIEW: All You Need To Know

Their only previous meeting was in a friendly on 11 June 1994 at New Haven in the United States before that year's World Cup. Italy won 1-0 thanks to a goal by Giuseppe Signori.

Costa Rica have scored in each of their six World Cup games against teams from the UEFA confederation.
Italy's pass completion of 93% vs England is the highest rate ever recorded in a World Cup game (1966-2014).

Italy have scored in their last 15 World Cup games, a record run for them and the best current run of any side.

URUGUAY 1 COSTA RICA: Los Ticos Shocks Uruguay

Uruguay failed to overcome the absence of Luis Suarez as a shock 3-1 loss to Costa Rica left their World Cup dream in tatters.

With Italy and England completing a strong-looking Group D, Costa Rica were expected to be the whipping boys even with star striker Suarez - still recovering from a knee injury - unable to take the field in Fortaleza on Saturday.

The game went to script initially as Costa Rica's defensive gameplan was ruined by Edinson Cavani putting Uruguay ahead from the penalty spot in the 24th minute.

URUGUAY vs COSTA RICA: All You Need To Know

Uruguay won the only previous World Cup held in Brazil, defeating the hosts in the final in 1950.

Luis Suarez was the top scorer in the South American World Cup qualifiers (11 goals). He had the most shots on target in the last World Cup (15).

Diego Forlan has scored three of Uruguay's last five goals at the World Cup.