SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Host Costa Rica was eliminated from the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a game to play after it fell to Italy 1-0 on Tuesday at the Estadio Nacional.
Gloria Marinelli struck for the game’s only goal in the 19th minute with a spectacular right-footed volley from near the penalty spot off Manuela Giugliano’s corner kick.
The result secured a place in the quarterfinals for the Italians and left them in a tie with Venezuela atop Group A on maximum points from two games.
"We talk about player training, we are the host country, but we are in a process working to improve,” Costa Rica head coach Juan Diego Quesada told the press after the game. “This is training and training is also to compete, it is to lose, it is to learn.”
Costa Rica and Zambia – both searching for their first points -- will meet on Saturday at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa to conclude their participation in the competition.
