England vs. Italy, 2014 World Cup: Mario Balotelli wins it

A defensive, cagey game had been predicted, but both sides went seeking the win, and Italy struck first with an excellent goal from Antonio Candreva, before Daniel Sturridge equalised almost immediately for England.

The game got off to a lively start, with both sides coming close to scoring early on. First Raheem Sterling had England fans celebrating when they thought his 30-yard effort had gone in, although in reality it struck the side-netting. Balotelli let fly with an effort from 20 yards which whistled over the crossbar, before Danny Welbeck was involved in almost providing a tap-in for Sturridge after Andrea Barzagli had deflected the ball across goal.

It took a few minutes to figure out exactly what had happened, and who had be injured. At first it appeared that a camera operator might have been injured, but once the crowd surrounding the stretcher cleared, it became clear that Lewin was the individual who was injured.

Lewin spent 22 years working as the first team physiotherapist for Arsenal before becoming the Head of Physiotherapy for the England National Team in 2008. Hopefully it’s not a serious injury for Lewin and he’ll be able to continue his work going forward during the tournament.

I’ve watched this 50 times and I still see the ball hitting the back of the net.

It didn’t. That’s side netting. What the hell.