Costa Rica Beats Italy, England Eliminated

Costa Rica victory means England is eliminated from the World Cup.

ByABC News
June 20, 2014, 2:13 PM
Italy's Mario Balotelli, left, gets in a shot despite the challenge of Costa Rica's Oscar Duarte during the group D World Cup soccer match between Italy and Costa Rica at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, June 20, 2014.
Italy's Mario Balotelli, left, gets in a shot despite the challenge of Costa Rica's Oscar Duarte during the group D World Cup soccer match between Italy and Costa Rica at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, June 20, 2014.
Frank Augstein/AP Photo

— -- With Costa Rica's 1-0 win against Italy today at the World Cup, England fans reacted with devastation to their country's elimination.

Costa Rica's victory over Italy -- or even a draw -- would eliminate England. Fans of the Three Lions had been cheering for an Italy win, the only result that would have kept their side alive.

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All over the world, English fans had cheered for Italy in a bid to salvage the country's two other losses -- first to Italy (2-1) last Saturday, then to Uruguay (again, 2-1) on Thursday.

Even actor Patrick Stewart, from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the "X-Men" film series, had been cheering for Italy.

Before the game, Italy's star player, Mario Balotelli, had tweeted that he hoped Queen Elizabeth would give him a kiss if his team beat Costa Rica, allowing England to stay in the tournament.

After England's first World Cup first-round exit since 1958, fans reacted in awe, despair or disappointment on social media:

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