Biggest Sporting Event on the Earth

Costa Rica

No comments

Costa Rica - Group D (Uruguay, England, Italy)

One of the best movers in FIFA Rankings this year, Costa Rica is getting into their stride to compete in the toughest group of the World Cup. Supposedly the second least probable team to get into the Knockout stages, least being Australia, Costa Rica needs multiple upsets to just get out of the group

Profile - Champions of Central America

One of the most successful Central American nations, yet they had to wait wait till 1990 to participate in a World Cup tourney. They are also the third strongest team in the North American CONCACAF region
Costa Rica are a balanced side with a resilient defense and manageable strike force. But they tend to fire blanks more often than desired and they tend to lose their concentration in the final quarters of the matches susceptible to conceding late goals

Costa Rican Football Federation
Confederation: CONMEBOL (South America)
Coach: Jorge Luis Pinto (COL)
FIFA Ranking: 34 (8-May-2014)
Nickname: Ticos, La Sele
Key Players: Ruiz, Campbell, Navas
Legends: Wanchope, Centeno, Fonseca

History - Late Entry

Although their international footballing history stretches back to the early 20's, their World Cup debut didn't arrive before Italy 90. They made an impressive start by beating Sweden and Scotland to reach the knockout stages. They were eliminated by Czechoslovakia in the round of 16
Lack of planning and performance resulted in 94 and 98 qualifier failures. They qualified for the next two world cups but failed to overcome their groups
Costa Rica won North American Championship thrice and Central American Championship seven times. So impressive is their record in UNCAF Cup that they failed to reach the final only once

Qualification - Home Advantage

Getting into the final fourth round behind Mexico, from the third round of qualifiers, losing only to the leaders, Costa Rica established a distinctive home advantage by winning all the five home matches. The strong fourth round campaign, with just two away losses, enabled them to qualify for the World Cup in second place behind the United States

Prospects - Toughest Group

Costa Rica face three former World Champions in their Group D and is least likely to qualify from the group. Their best chance would be against Italy, which seems to be the only team vulnerable to Costa Rican style of play

Squad


Goalkeepers:
Keylor Navas (Levante), Patrick Pemberton (Alajuelense), Daniel Cambronero (Herediano)

Defenders:
Johnny Acosta (Alajuelense), Junior Diaz (Mainz), Oscar Duarte (Club Brugge), Waylon Francis (Columbus Crew), Christian Gamboa (Rosenborg), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew), Roy Miller (New York Red Bulls), Michael Umana (Deportivo Saprissa), David Myrie (Herediano)

Midfielders:
Michael Barrantes (Aalesund), Christian Bolanos (Copenhagen), Diego Calvo (Valerenga), Jose Miguel Cubero (Herediano), Esteban Granados (Herediano), Yeltsin Tejeda (Deportivo Saprissa)

Forwards:
Celso Borges (AIK), Randall Brenes (Cartagines), Joel Campbell (Arsenal), Bryan Ruiz (Fulham), Marco Urena (Kuban Krasnodar)

Fixtures

Uruguay vs Costa Rica on June 14 at Fortaleza
Italy vs Costa Rica on June 20 at Recife
Costa Rica vs England on June 24 at Belo Horizonte

No comments :

Post a Comment