In their third successive trip to the World Cup, Costa Rica are out to prove their golden generation can recapture the form that made them the darlings of this tournament in 2014.
It was a long road for Los Ticos to get to Qatar, as they went unbeaten in their final seven fixtures of CONCACAF qualifying, earning an inter-confederation playoff berth, which they won 1-0 over New Zealand.
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The 2022 edition of this side consists of numerous key figures from their incredible run in Brazil eight years ago, while Los Ticos possess one of the stingiest backlines in their region.
Here, Sports Mole looks at how Luis Fernando Suarez's side could fare in Qatar.
GROUP
With Los Ticos having to face a pair of former World Cup winners in Germany and Spain, along with a team in Japan that made it to the round of 16 four years ago, not much is expected from them heading into the group stage.
Die Mannschaft and La Roja will be heavy favourites to make it out of this group, while Costa Rica have never beaten the Samurai Blue in five previous friendlies, with their best result being a 1-1 draw against them in 2002.
On paper, the outlook appears to be bleak, but the veterans on this team will remind us that they were expected to finish bottom of their group in Brazil eight years ago when they wound up shocking everybody by topping a group which included three former world champions in Italy, England and Uruguay.
FIXTURES
November 23: Spain vs. Costa Rica (4pm, Al Thumama Stadium, Doha)
November 27: Japan vs. Costa Rica (10am, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan)
December 1: Costa Rica vs. Germany (7pm, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor)
HOW THEY QUALIFIED
It took some time for Los Ticos to get their 2022 qualification campaign going, winning just one of their opening seven fixtures in the Octagon.
A dramatic injury-time winner on matchday eight at home to Honduras seemed to change their fortunes as they posted a 100% record in the second half of qualifying.
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They rode that hot streak into their playoff versus New Zealand, scoring after three minutes of play and hanging on from there in a chippy affair where a total of 27 fouls were committed, and the Kiwis picked up a red card in the second half.
Looking back on their road to Qatar, a couple of blunders from backup goalkeeper Leonel Moreira in the first half of qualifying made their journey much more challenging.
Moreira gifted Canada a 1-0 victory on matchday seven, and his own goal versus the USA in the previous game ultimately kept them from leapfrogging the Yanks in the table, as they missed out on an automatic World Cup berth on goal difference to the Americans.
Costa Rica ended the CONCACAF qualifying round with 25 points from 14 encounters, and they were one of the best defensive units down the stretch of the campaign.
RECENT FORM
The Costa Ricans have only suffered one defeat in their last 13 matches played in all competitions, defeating Nigeria 2-0 earlier this month.
Against a Nigerian squad consisting primarily of Under-23 players, Los Ticos got contributions from Kendall Waston and Oscar Duarte, while Esteban Alvarado picked up a clean sheet.
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Joel Campbell scored the goal which ultimately sent them to Qatar in their playoff versus New Zealand, while Anthony Hernandez and Waston both found the back of the net in injury time to help them come back to beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in a September friendly, the first international goal for Hernandez.
Before that triumph, they conceded a late goal to South Korea in a 2-2 draw in September, while Costa Rica have a win and a loss so far in the CONCACAF Nations League, dropping their opener 2-0 versus Panama before defeating Martinique by that same score a few days later.
They have been incredibly compact defensively of late, conceding a goal or fewer in 13 of their last 14 matches in all competitions and posting eight clean sheets in 2022.
SQUAD
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β FCRF (@fedefutbolcrc) November 3, 2022
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Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas (Paris Saint-Germain), Esteban Alvarado (Herediano), Patrick Sequeira (Lugo)
Defenders: Juan Pablo Vargas (Millonarios), Keysher Fuller (Herediano), Oscar Duarte (Al-Wehda), Bryan Oviedo (Real Salt Lake), Carlos Martinez (San Carlos), Francisco Calvo (Konyaspor), Kendall Waston (Saprissa), Ronald Matarrita (FC Cincinnati)
Midfielders: Daniel Chacon (Colorado Rapids 2), Celso Borges (Alajuelense), Jewison Bennette (Sunderland), Bryan Ruiz (Alajuelense), Gerson Torres (Herediano), Youstin Salas (Saprissa), Yeltsin Tejeda (Herediano), Brandon Aguilera (Nottingham Forest), Roan Wilson (Municipal Grecia), Douglas Lopez (Herediano), Anthony Hernandez (Puntarenas), Alvaro Zamora (Saprissa)
Forwards: Anthony Contreras (Herediano), Johan Venegas (Alajuelense), Joel Campbell (Leon)
STAR PLAYER - KEYLOR NAVAS
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We rarely see him feature anymore for his club side Paris Saint-Germain, but the three-time Champions League winner at Real Madrid showed in qualifying how valuable he still is to the national team.
As mentioned earlier, Moreira, who was not selected for the World Cup, made two critical errors which cost Los Ticos points in their earlier matches in the Octagon, but they looked a lot more comfortable at the back with their reliable goalkeeper between the sticks.
Navas remains an excellent shot-stopper, with quick reflexes and terrific anticipation, all qualities which have many saying he is perhaps the greatest keeper to ever come out of CONCACAF.
The 35-year-old only allowed one goal in his last seven qualifiers, including their playoff victory, further solidifying his place as one of the top goalkeepers in clutch situations.
MANAGER - LUIS FERNANDO SUAREZ
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The 62-year-old Colombian is no stranger to the World Cup, leading Ecuador to their best-ever finish at the 2006 tournament when they defeated Poland and Costa Rica, losing out in the round of 16, 1-0 to England, thanks to a David Beckham free kick.
Suarez was also in charge of Honduras at the 2014 finals when they lost all three of their matches, finishing bottom of a group that featured France, Switzerland and his former team Ecuador.
Los Ticos appointed him as manager just before the 2021 Gold Cup, where he led them to the quarter-finals, while they struggled offensively early on in World Cup qualifying, failing to score in three of their first four fixtures.
Like the previous teams he guided to the finals, Suarez has implemented a defensive strategy with the Costa Ricans, focused on discipline and patience with several players behind the ball, enabling his side to be one of the toughest backlines in the Octagon, when they conceded a mere eight goals.
WORLD CUP RECORD
Best finish: Quarter-finals (2014)
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Their run to the last eight was perhaps the biggest shock of the 2014 World Cup, as they earned plenty of praise for their aggressive approach, catching Uruguay and Italy by surprise with an up-tempo brand of football, combined with finesse and flair.
Incredibly they went into their final match of the group stage in Brazil already assured of a spot in the knockout round, but the journey did not end there as they drew 0-0 with England before defeating Greece on penalties in the last 16.
In the quarter-finals against a Netherlands squad littered with stars, the Costa Ricans held their own, playing to a 0-0 draw through 120 minutes in a match that could have gone either way.
In the end, a bold move by Dutch coach Louis van Gaal paid off as backup goalkeeper Tim Krul stopped two Costa Rican penalties, ending the World Cup dream for the Central Americans.
That was only the second time this team had made it beyond the group stage of a World Cup, with the first being in their debut tournament when they lost in the round of 16 at Italia '90.
Four years ago, they fought hard, narrowly losing 1-0 to Serbia in their opening game before being eliminated by Brazil when Philippe Coutinho and Neymar each scored in injury time.
They did however manage to salvage some pride in their final encounter in Russia, when they held Switzerland to a 2-2 draw.
Overall, the Costa Ricans have played 18 World Cup fixtures, winning five matches, while losing eight and drawing five.
They have scored 19 goals at the finals, while conceding 28, with their biggest victory being 3-1 against Uruguay in 2014, while Los Ticos have suffered a trio of three-goal defeats versus Czechoslovakia in 1990 (4-1), Brazil in 2002 (5-2) and Ecuador in 2006 (3-0).
PREDICTION
Costa Rica deserve a ton of credit for their turnaround in the qualification campaign, however as experienced as they are, it would be hard to see them pull off a cinderella run like we saw in 2014.
Most of the players chosen for the World Cup ply their trade in Central American leagues, where the competition is not nearly as fierce as what the Germans, Spanish and Japanese experience on a weekly basis.
An ageing team might need to depend on Navas to put together some virtuoso performances to have any hope of advancing.
VERDICT: Fourth in Group E
