World Cup 2014: Your guide to Group D - Uruguay; England; Costa Rica; Italy
The lowdown on all of the teams in Group D
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Your support makes all the difference.Fixtures (times BST):
June 14 Fortaleza, 2000: Uruguay v Costa Rica
June 15 Manaus, 0200: England v Italy
June 19 Sao Paulo, 2000: Uruguay v England
June 20 Recife, 1700: Italy v Costa Rica
June 24 Natal, 1700: Italy v Uruguay
June 24 Belo Horizonte, 1700: Costa Rica v England
Uruguay
How they qualified
Beat Jordan in play off
Key player
Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint Germain)
Dangerman
Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
World Cup best
Winners 1930 and 1950
Premier League interest
Diego Lugano (West Brom), Gaston Ramirez (Southampton), Suarez (Liverpool) and a certain Diego Forlan.
WORLD CUP 2014 INTERACTIVE GUIDE: The groups, fixtures, route to the final, venues and past winners
Costa Rica
How they qualified
Runners up in the Concacaf Fourth Round behind United States.
Key player
Bryan Ruiz (Fulham)- The creative talent of Ruiz has been evident for a number of years in the Premier League. He’ll be the main attacking threat for Costa Rica throughout the course of the tournament.
Dangerman
Joel Campbell (Arsenal, on loan at Olympiakos)- Campbell has been in fine form since his summer arrival at Olympiacos, scoring 5 goals in 12 appearances. His playing style has drawn comparisons to Costa Rica legend Paulo Wanchope.
World Cup best
Will be playing in their fourth World Cup finals, their best finish was the last 16 in 1990.</b><br/>
Premier League interest
Everton defender Bryan Oviedo, Ruiz, plus Campbell – although he has not yet played for the Gunners, only being granted a work-permit for England during the summer.
Most expensive?
Ruiz - £6m. from FC Twente to Fulham, 2011
England
How they qualified
Unbeaten winners of Uefa Group H, finishing ahead of Ukraine.
Key player
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)- The England forward is enjoying his best form at club level in recent years and he’ll be looking to open his World Cup finals account in Brazil.
Dangerman
Andros Townsend (Tottenham) – The direct winger was a breath of fresh air in his debut for his country and has continued his phenomenal start to his international career.
World Cup best
Winners - 1966
Premier League interest
All – except Fraser Forster who plays for Scottish league champions Celtic.
Most expensive
Andy Carroll – £35m from Newcastle to Liverpool, 2011
Italy
How they qualified
Won the Uefa Group B, finishing the qualification stage unbeaten.
Key player
Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)- The evergreen Pirlo continues to demonstrate his ability in Serie A. If Italy are to thrive, his ability to dictate the tempo of a match must take centre stage.
Dangerman
Mario Balotelli (Milan)- The enigma that is Balotelli will be a handful for any defence, as well as the media. The striker has been on fire in front of goal since his arrival at Milan.
World Cup best
Four-time winners, most recently in 2006. Only Brazil have won the World Cup more.
Premier League interest
Southampton’s Dani Osvaldo, Sunderland’s Emanuele Giaccherini, plus possibly Newcastle’s Davide Santon. Alberto Aquilani, Giuseppe Rossi, and, of course, Balotelli have played in the English top flight.
Most expensive
Gianluigi Buffon – £32.6m from Parma to Juventus, 2001
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