With Costa Rica running away with Group D, Italy and Uruguay are left to slug it out for the second last 16 spot in a do-or-die battle for both teams at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife.
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The big match is scheduled for a 1 pm local time (9.30 pm IST, 5 pm BST, 12 pm ET) start with live coverage on Sony Six HD and and Sony Six in India. The match is also available online via live streaming in India HERE. Catch the action in the UK on ITV and BBC with the live streaming options HERE or HERE. US viewers can catch the game on ESPN and also live stream the action HERE. Viewers in Australia can watch HERE online, while South Africa viewers can catch the match HERE.
Only one of Italy and Uruguay can qualify for the second round of this ripper of a FIFA World Cup 2014, with the former holding the slight edge. Both Italy and Uruguay, after their wins over England and losses against Costa Rica, are on three points each, but the fact that the Europeans have a better goal difference means a draw will be enough for them to go through.
Uruguay, however, must defeat Italy, a difficult but definitely possible proposition as Costa Rica showed on Friday. Coach Oscar Tabarez will have his own ace in Luis Suarez up his sleeve, but is also wary about the threat of Mario Balotelli, who, despite having a couple of good chances, could not inspire Italy past Costa Rica.
"There is no room for fear in football, there's only room for fear in life when bad things happen to your loved ones," he said. "There can be concerns, of course, and in the case of Balotelli he is young and he is a specialist in the last part of the pitch.
"We have worked to try to counter him. We will see if we succeed. But I believe that this match is not going to be characterized by fear but by motivation and admiration."
However, while Balotelli will gather plenty of attention, the spotlight will be firmly placed on that unbelievably good striker – Suarez. The Liverpool forward showed exactly why he is considered as one of the best players in the world with his stunning brace which stunned England and as good as knocked them out of the competition.
Suarez was not even remotely fully fit for that encounter on Thursday, but after several days of recuperation, the 27-year-old insists he is fully fit and raring to go against Italy – an ominous sign for Cesare Prandelli's men.
"I was not really 100 percent the other day [against England]," he told reporters. "I was at the limit of my physical capacity. My last game had been at Liverpool in May. So I was cramping and tired. But you build yourself up and come to the next assignment and this is what I'm doing.
"The knee is in perfect condition. If it hadn't been right I would have told the coach. After surgery, you are always worried but the reaction was spectacular."
Uruguay make no bones about their reliance on Suarez, and to a certain extent Edinson Cavani, who hasn't hit his heights yet, which could again spell danger for Italy, who scraped past Suarez and co. in the Confederations Cup third-place playoff last year. Tabarez will look to his strikers, Suarez in particular, to inspire the South Americans to glory and a pre-quarterfinals berth.
"Luis is very important," Tabarez said. "He knows what to do in the last 20 meters in front of the goal. You don't lose that just because you have a knee operation. He put everything he had into overcoming this impediment. With respect to others on the team, he is a good option even if he isn't 100 percent fit.
"We have no doubt his presence is going to be very important for us ... This gentleman is going to go to the pitch and he is going to fight."
Italy were quite poor against Costa Rica in their last match, but then Uruguay also struggled immeasurably against the Central Americans. Uruguay, though, did bounce back with that big win over England, and it will be up to Italy to show their powers of bouncebackability when they take field on Tuesday.
"When you come from a defeat like that, you've got to find the energy over the next few days to put things right," Italy skipper Gianluigi Buffon said. "When we're facing a challenge, that's when we respond best."
Team news: Italy: Prandelli is set to make a few changes to his side, with a possible 3-5-2 formation for the 4-1-4-1 system, which worked well against England, but flopped spectacularly in the Costa Rica game. Ciro Immobile is expected to come into the side to partner Balotelli, with midfielder Danielle De Rossi expected to miss out because of a calf injury. Matia De Sciglio, though, could return from a thigh issue.
Uruguay: Suarez is fit and ready, so the striker should take his place with Cavani up top. Maxi Pereira remains suspended, while skipper Diego Lugano remains a doubt after missing the game against England.
Expected lineups: Italy: Buffon; Barzagli, Paletta, Chiellini; Darmian, Pirlo, Motta, Marchisio, De Sciglio; Balotelli, Immobile.
Uruguay: Muslera; Caceres, Gimenez, Godin, Pereira; Lodeiro, Rodriguez, Arevalo Rios, Gonzalez; Suarez, Cavani.
Prediction: 2-2
