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Costa Rica national football team

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 131.94.55.108 (talk) at 14:16, 1 March 2016 (→2016). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about Costa Rica's men's national football team. For the women's team, see Costa Rica women's national football team.

Costa Rica
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)[La Sele (The Selection)] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
[La Tricolor (The Tricolor)] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
[Los Ticos] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
Association[[[Costa Rican Football Federation|Federación Costarricense de Fútbol]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
(FEDEFUTBOL)
ConfederationCONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederationUNCAF (Central America)
Head coachOscar Ramírez
CaptainBryan Ruiz
Most capsWalter Centeno (137)
Top scorerRolando Fonseca (47)
Home stadiumEstadio Nacional
FIFA codeCRC
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current31 Increase 6 (4 February 2016)
Highest13 (February 2015 – March 2015)
Lowest93 (July 1996)
First international
 Costa Rica 7–0 El Salvador 
(Guatemala City, Guatemala; 14 September 1921)
Biggest win
 Costa Rica 12–0 Puerto Rico 
(Barranquilla, Colombia; 10 December 1946)
Biggest defeat
 Mexico 7–0 Costa Rica 
(Mexico City, Mexico; 17 August 1975)
World Cup
Appearances4 (first in 1990)
Best resultQuarter-finals, 2014
CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup
Appearances17 (first in 1963)
Best resultChampions, 1963, 1969 and 1989
Copa América
Appearances4 (first in 1997)
Best resultQuarter-Finals, 2001 and 2004

The Costa Rica national football team (Template:Lang-es) represents Costa Rica in international men's football. Costa Rica is administered by the Costa Rican Football Federation (FEDEFUTBOL), the governing body for football in Costa Rica. They have been a member of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) since 1927, a member of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) since 1961 and a member of the Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol (UNCAF) since 1990.

Costa Rica are the current Central American champions after winning the 2014 edition of the tournament. Costa Rica is the most successful national football team in the history of Central America, with eight championships: 1991, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2014. They are also one of the most successful team in CONCACAF with three titles. Costa Rica is the only national team in Central America to have played in four FIFA World Cup editions. Costa Rica's national football team has the all-time highest average Football Elo Ranking in Central America with 1597.1, and the all-time highest Football Elo Ranking in Central America, with 1806 in 2014.

Since the late 1980s, the team has continuously been visible as a solidly competitive side, with a prominent performance in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, making it to the knockout stage in their debut after finishing second in their group during the first phase, below Brazil. They also managed to qualify for the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. In 2014, Costa Rica made their best performance in history by finishing first in their group that consisted of three former World Cup champions: Uruguay, Italy, and England. During the Round of 16 they defeated Greece 5–3 via a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw. Reaching the quarterfinals for their very first time the "Ticos" were defeated by the Netherlands also in a penalty shootout (3–4) after a scoreless draw on 5 July.[1][2]

History

Costa Rica has a long-standing football culture and tradition.

The national team made its debut in the Independence Centenary Games held in Guatemala City in September 1921, winning their first game 7–0 against El Salvador. In the final, Costa Rica defeated 6–0 Guatemala to claim the trophy.[3]

The football team of Costa Rica has been characterized above all by its regularity over the years. Well remembered is the selection of this country formed in the late 1940s acquiring the nickname of "The Gold Shorties". Throughout the '50s and '60s, they were very much the second strongest team in the CONCACAF zone behind Mexico, finishing runners-up in World Cup qualifying in the 1958, 1962 and 1966 qualifiers. Stars of the side during this period were Ruben Jimenez, Errol Daniels, Leonel Hernandez and Edgar Marin.

However, at the end of the '60s their fortunes would decline as other teams in the region such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago and Canada came to the fore. Although the majority of these participants have been short on points in their World Cup performances. During the 1970s and most of the 1980s, the Costa Rican team went unnoticed, and was absent from World Cups. Costa Rica failed to make the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying rounds until the 1986 qualifier. Currently its historical topscorer is Rolando Fonseca with 47 goals.

1980s

Costa Rica participated in 2 straight Summer Olympic Games, in Moscow 1980 and in Los Angeles 1984. In 1980, Costa Rica competed against Yugoslavia, Finland and Iraq, in Group D, losing all 3 games 2–3, 0–3 and 0–3 respectively. Los Angeles saw Costa Rica's first win in a worldwide international participation. Again in Group D, the Ticos played against The United States, Egypt and Italy. The game against The US ended in a loss, 0–3. The second game did not see much improvement, 1–4 against Egypt. But in the last game, against an Italian squad that included Walter Zenga, Pietro Vierchowood, Franco Baresi and Aldo Serena, Costa Rica prevailed 1–0, with an Enrique Rivers goal.

Qualifying to Italy 1990

Team that played against Scotland in the World Cup Italy 1990
Main article: 1990 FIFA World Cup

After a great campaign in the CONCACAF Championship in 1989, Costa Rica got their first ticket to the finals of a World Cup where they made a huge showing after beating Scotland and Sweden in the first round. It all started with a tie against Panama. To advance to the qualifying group stage. Costa Rica suffered against the Panamanians in the first game at Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium in Alajuela, and ended up taking a local one to one tie. In the second game at the stadium Revolution (now Rommel Fernández), with goals from Juan Arnoldo Cayasso and Hernán Medford gave the away victory to Costa Rica 0–2 victory to advanced to the group stage. Costa Rica started the group stage with a defeat in Guatemala by 1 to 0. Then beat the same Guatemala 2–1 at home, goals from Róger Flores and Evaristo Coronado. Then Costa Rica beat the U.S. in San Jose by 1–0 with a goal from Gilberto Rodden. Then they lost to the U.S. 1–0 in St. Louis – Missouri. Following this they tied in Trinidad and Tobago 1 to 1, the scorer was Evaristo Coronado. Beat Trinidad and Tobago in San Jose with a goal by Juan Arnoldo Cayasso. A substantial away win was next for the Ticos in El Salvador at the Cuscatlán by 2–4, with goals from Carlos Mario Hidalgo, Juan Arnoldo Cayasso and a double from Leonidas Flores. Finally in the last game a victory over El Salvador in San Jose by 1 goal to 0 signified a trip to the 1990 Fifa World Cup. Pastor Fernandez scored the lone goal. Costa Rica finished first with 11 points in the pentagonal and the United States in second also with 11 points in 8 games respectably both qualifying, but Costa Rica first on goal difference. Mexico was disqualified from this qualifier because of youth player age tampering.

In the World Cup finals, Costa Rica was second in their group behind Brazil, but lost in the round of 16 to Czechoslovakia.

Main article: 1989 CONCACAF Championship
Qualifying Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Costa Rica 8 5 1 2 10 6 +4 11
 United States 8 4 3 1 6 3 +3 11
 Trinidad and Tobago 8 3 3 2 7 5 +2 9
 Guatemala 6 1 1 4 4 7 −3 3
 El Salvador 6 0 2 4 2 8 −6 2

1990s and early 2000s

After its brilliant performance in the Italian summer, the national team failed to qualify for World Cup USA 1994 and France 1998 due to lack of planning and poor results. It was an important and historical moment when, in 1997 Costa Rica was invited for the first time to the Copa América held in Bolivia, Costa Rica also played memorable friendlies including a 5–4 defeat against Uruguay in Estadio Centenario.

Main article: 1997 Copa América
Qualifying Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Brazil 3 3 0 0 10 2 +8 9
 Mexico 3 1 1 1 5 5 - 4
 Colombia 3 1 0 2 5 5 - 3
 Costa Rica 3 0 1 2 2 10 -8 1

2001 Copa América

Main article: 2001 Copa América

Korea / Japan 2002 World Cup Qualifiers

Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup

After the failures in qualifying for the World Cup 1994 and World Cup 1998, the Ticos won the qualification for the World Cup in 2002 held in South Korea and Japan. This included victories against favorites Mexico and the United States. During the World Cup the results were mixed, losing to Brazil (tournament champion) 5–2 (only team to score 2 goals against Brazil at this World Cup), tying with Turkey (third in the championship) 1–1 and beating China 2–0. Costa Rica finished in third place in their group, behind Turkey on goal difference. The match against Brazil is remembered as one of the most exciting matches of the tournament.[citation needed]

During the qualifiers, though, Costa Rica started with many ups and downs, first in command of Brazilian coach Gilson Nunes Sequeira and then with Costa Rican Alexandre Guimarães. The first group stage began with an unexpected defeat to Barbados 1–2. After this humiliating loss, Costa Rica proceeded to beat the United States at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium 2–1, with goals from Rolando Fonseca and Hernán Medford. Then they beat Guatemala in the Morera Soto Alajuela by 2–1, with two goals from Paulo Wanchope and defeated Barbados at the Ricardo Saprissa 3–0, with goals from Jafet Soto, Rolando Fonseca and Hernan Medford. After this good run, Costa Rica's level decreased and took a scoreless match against the United States, then lost to Guatemala in Mazatenango 2–1. This result forced a playoff against Guatemala in Miami, Florida. The match was won 5–2 by Costa Rica with two goals from Rolando Fonseca, one from Paulo Wanchope, one from Reynaldo Parks and Jafeth Soto.

Costa Rica displayed a fine offensive form with a rather solid front line,[citation needed] thanks to their new coach, Alexandre Guimaraes. This display of football evidenced itself during the final hexagonal round, although it began with a draw against Honduras at the Ricardo Saprissa 2–2, with goals from Rolando Fonseca and Rodrigo Cordero. Then Costa Rica defeated Trinidad and Tobago 3–0 at the Morera Soto. Their only loss in this final round came thanks to the U.S., who defeated Costa Rica 1–0. Afterwards, Costa Rica bounced back with a huge win against Mexico in Mexico city 1–2, which is usually referred as the "Aztecazo",[citation needed] with goals from Rolando Fonseca and Hernan Medford. Morale was high after this game, and Costa Rica beat Jamaica 2–1 in Alajuela. Again, Costa Rica came away with an away win over Honduras in Tegucigalpa 2–3, goals scored by Paulo Wanchope, Rolando Fonseca and Mauricio Solis. A crucial away win in Port of Spain against Trinidad and Tobago 2–0, with two goals from Rónald Gómez, meant Costa Rica was just 3 points away from qualification to the World Cup. Costa Rica sealed their qualification to Korea/Japan in an emotional match against the U.S. by beating them 2–0 in the Saprissa, with a double from Rolando Fonseca. The final 2 games were uneventful, as Costa Rica managed a goaless tie with Mexico at the Ricardo Saprissa and defeated already-eliminated Jamaica 0–1, using subs and reserves. Costa Rica finished first in that hexagonal round with 23 points in 10 games.

Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification - CONCACAF final round
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Costa Rica 10 7 2 1 17 7 10 23
 Mexico 10 5 2 3 16 9 7 17
 United States 10 5 2 3 11 8 3 17
 Honduras 10 4 2 4 17 17 0 14
 Jamaica 10 2 2 6 7 14 −7 8
 Trinidad and Tobago 10 1 2 7 5 18 −13 5

Germany 2006 World Cup Qualifiers

Main article: 2006 FIFA World Cup

In 2006, Costa Rica had an uneven season but managed to make the qualification to the World Cup. On 9 June 2006, Costa Rica made its debut in the opening match in Munich against the host German squad, losing the match 4–2.

However, the good performance in that game did not translate over to the other games, where they fell 0–3 against Ecuador, and 1–2 against Poland. This time they also started the journey with ups and downs. First in command U.S. coach Steve Sampson, who was separated after qualifying with doubts over Cuba in the preliminary phase, Both these games results were ties. First in Havana 2–2, with goals Douglas Sequeira and Álvaro Saborío, and then in the second game at the Morera Soto in Alajuela 1–1. Costa Rica advanced to the away goals.

The Colombian Jorge Luis Pinto took over in the group stage. He began with an unheard of 2–5 defeat against Honduras in Costa Rica. Then they visited Guatemala and lost 1–2. Bounced back against Canada at the Saprissa 1–0, with a goal from Paulo Wanchope. Then a resounding triumph over Guatemala in Tibas 5 to 0, a hat-trick from Paulo Wanchope, single goals from Carlos Hernández and Rolando Fonseca resounding. Vancouver,Canada meant a decent 1–3 win, with goals from Paulo Wanchope, William Sunsing and Carlos Hernández. They pulled a goalless draw against Honduras in San Pedro Sula. Costa Rica advanced to the hexagonal winning their group. In the final round they started with a defeat at the Saprissa against Mexico by 1–2. Paulo Wanchope's goal was not enough. They beat Panama in the Saprissa by 2–1, with goals from Wayne Wilson and Roy Myrie.

In Port of Spain tied Trinidad and Tobago in a disappointing scoreless draw. This result marked Pinto's dismissal and the arrival of Alexandre Guimarães. He and the team lost the visit to the United States by 3–0. Guatemala was beaten at the Saprissa 3–2, with goals from Carlos Hernández, Ronald Gomez and Paulo Wanchope. Then lost in Mexico by 2–0. The ticos sank Panama in an away match at the Rommel Fernández 1–3, with goals from Álvaro Saborío, Ronald Gomez and Walter Centeno. Then beat Trinidad and Tobago at the Saprissa by 2–0 with goals from Walter Centeno and Álvaro Saborío.

Decisively beating the United States in the Saprissa by 3–0 equaled clinching the selections third World Cup birth. The first Goal was scored by Paulo Wanchope plus a Double from Carlos Hernández. With the ticket to Germany assured then traveled to Guatemala for a 3–1 loss. Roy Myrie scored their only goal. Costa Rica finished third behind the United States and Mexico in the standings.

South Africa 2010 World Cup Qualifiers

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

A very strange start for the Ticos. They faced Grenada in the second phase, drew the first leg 2–2, and then won the return by 3–0. In the third phase, forming the Group 3, won all six games played against the teams of El Salvador (1–0 and 3–1), Haiti (3–1 and 2–0) and Suriname (7–0 and 4 -1) in both outward and return. Skipping ahead towards the end of the final phase with Costa Rica achieving 12 points and Honduras 13 points. This meant a dramatic fight for the final spot to qualify for the South African World Cup. Costa Rica had to win their last two games and hope that the selection of Honduras lost. In the first instance they did well. Honduras lost at home 2–3 to the United States. Costa Rica on the other had won 4–0 against Trinidad and Tobago and overtook Honduras in the standings. Honduras closed their matches in El Salvador. However, Costa Rica still needed to give a good showing at the final match in the United States. This was achieved in-part. All went well for the Ticos winning 2–0 at halftime in Washington, D.C.. In the second half the United States scored at the 71st and 95th minutes and the Ticos only finished with a tie. Honduras's, 1–0 victory over El Salvador was devastating. Both Costa Rica and Honduras finished the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification CONCACAF Fourth Round with 16 points. Honduras slipped into the 2010 FIFA World Cup on goal difference. The Costa Ricans finished fourth in the Concacaf final qualifying round and were sent to a playoff with the fifth seated CONMEBOL team. In the playoff, Costa Rica faced Uruguay. In the first leg in San Jose. The Ticos lost 0–1, the Costa Rians finished the match with ten men on the pitch because Randall Azofeifa was sent off at the 52' with his second yellow card. Goal scored by defender Diego Lugano sky. The second leg, played at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. The goals were scored by Sebastián Abreu at the 70' and Walter Centeno 74' and finished in a 1–1 tie. Costa Rica was not able to take advantage of a slight extension of the game or "extra time". Uruguay won 2–1 on aggregate.

CONCACAF 4th place v CONMEBOL 5th place

The fourth-place team in the CONCACAF qualifying fourth round (Costa Rica) played off against the fifth-place team in the CONMEBOL qualifying group (Uruguay). Uruguay won the play-off and qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup on 18 November 2009.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Costa Rica  1–2  Uruguay 0–1 1–1

2010 to present

After failing to qualify for 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the team the need to initiate a new era, based on the combined generational shift with young but experienced talent such as Bryan Ruiz, Keylor Navas, Cristian Bolaños, Randall Azofeifa, Michael Barrantes and of course the very young and upcoming star Joel Campbell. Rónald González was interim contract before hiring in September 2010 of Ricardo La Volpe, whose job lasted only 10 months to be replaced by the Colombian coach Jorge Luis Pinto, in his second chance in front of the national team, with the goal of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. This era has been characterized by friendlies against the top ranked teams in the world, including world champion Spain, most of them through the construction of the new national stadium.

Brazil 2014 World Cup Qualifying and Tournament

Team that qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup

The Ticos' campaign to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup began in June with a 2–2 draw against El Salvador. The Ticos followed this up with a 4–0 win over Guyana with a hat trick by Álvaro Saborío. In September, Costa Rica hit a bump in the road with 2–0 and 1–0 defeats to rivals Mexico, putting the Ticos one defeat away of being eliminated. On 12 October, Costa Rica resurrected their campaign with a 1–0 win against El Salvador with the only goal scored by Jose Miguel Cubero. On 16 October, they finally clinched a final round berth with a 7–0 win over Guyana with goals scored by Randall Brenes, Álvaro Saborío, Cristian Bolaños, Celso Borges and Cristian Gamboa.

The fourth round began with a 2–2 draw against Panama. In March, Costa Rica lost 1–0 against the United States in Denver, Colorado. The Costa Rican Football Federation appealed the match due to inclement weather in Denver, but FIFA rejected the appeal as being without basis.[4] Despite feeling aggrieved by the meteorological conditions, Costa Rica would again fall to the US 1–0 in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup that June.[5] On 26 March, Costa Rica won at home 2–0 against Jamaica. In June, Costa Rica won 1–0 against Honduras, tied 0–0 at the Estadio Azteca against Mexico and won at home 2–0 against Panama. In September, Costa Rica won 3–1 against the United States in Estadio Nacional in San José.

On 10 September Costa Rica tied with Jamaica. Goals were scored by Randall Brenes at the 73rd minute and by Jermain Anderson at the 90th minute. Despite losing its lead, Costa Rica qualified to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with two games to spare. After a 1–0 loss at Honduras and 2–1 win over Mexico in October, Costa Rica finished second in the final CONCACAF qualifying round table behind the United States, with five home wins, three draws and two losses.

In December 2013, Costa Rica was drawn in Group D against Italy, England, and Uruguay. Costa Rica were widely perceived as minnows who had no hope in a group against three former World Cup champion nations. They were given extremely unlikely odds of 2500 to 1 to win the tournament. Amazingly, they ended up topping the group with two wins against Uruguay and Italy and a 0–0 draw with England. In the round of 16 they beat Greece 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, seeing them through to the quarterfinals for the first time ever. At the quarterfinals, the Costa Ricans fought the Netherlands to a 0–0 draw after extra time; the game then went to penalties in which Costa Rica lost 4–3 to the Netherlands. After the tournament, Costa Rica rose 12 places in the FIFA World Rankings, reaching 16th place, which at the time was the best ranking ever of the national team. Currently, La Sele is 13th in the FIFA Ranking.

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round

Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round

Competitive record

* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter Did Not Enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958 Did Not Qualify 6 4 1 1 16 7
Chile 1962 9 5 1 3 22 14
England 1966 8 7 1 0 21 3
Mexico 1970 4 2 1 1 7 3
West Germany 1974 2 0 1 1 4 5
Argentina 1978 6 1 4 1 8 6
Spain 1982 8 1 4 3 6 10
Mexico 1986 8 2 5 1 10 8
Italy 1990 Round of 16 13th / 24 teams 4 2 0 2 4 6 10 6 2 2 13 7
United States 1994 Did Not Qualify 8 4 0 4 16 11
France 1998 16 7 3 6 22 17
South Korea Japan 2002 Group Stage 19th / 32 teams 3 1 1 1 5 6 17 11 3 3 31 10
Germany 2006 31st / 32 teams 3 0 0 3 3 9 18 8 4 6 30 25
South Africa 2010 Did Not Qualify * 20 12 3 5 41 22
Brazil 2014 Quarter-Finals 8th / 32 teams 5 2 3 0 5 2 16 8 4 4 27 12
Total Quarterfinals 4/20 15 5 4 6 17 23 153 77 37 41 274 160
* Uruguay beat Costa Rica 2–1 in the 2010 CONCACAF vs CONMEBOL play-off.

CONCACAF Championship / CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship / CONCACAF Gold Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
El Salvador 1963 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 14 2
Guatemala 1965 Third Place 3rd 5 2 2 1 11 4
Honduras 1967 Did Not Enter
Costa Rica 1969 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 13 2
Trinidad and Tobago 1971 Third Place 3rd 5 2 1 2 6 5
Haiti 1973 Did Not Qualify
Mexico 1977
Honduras 1981
1985 Third Place 3rd 8 2 5 1 10 8
1989 Champions 1st 8 5 1 2 10 6
United States1991 Fourth Place 4th 5 1 0 4 5 9
United StatesMexico 1993 Third Place 3rd 5 1 3 1 6 5
United States 1996 Did Not Qualify
United States 1998 Group Stage 5th 2 1 0 1 8 4
United States 2000 Quarter-Finals 6th 3 0 2 1 5 6
United States 2002 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 8 5
United StatesMexico 2003 Fourth Place 4th 5 2 0 3 9 7
United States 2005 Quarter-Finals 6th 4 2 1 1 6 4
United States 2007 7th 4 1 1 2 3 4
United States 2009 Semi Final 3rd 5 2 2 1 10 6
United States 2011 Quarter-Finals 5th 4 1 2 1 8 6
United States 2013 5th 4 2 0 2 4 2
United StatesCanada 2015 7th 4 0 3 1 3 4
Total 3 Titles 17/22 83 36 23 24 136 87

Copa Centroamericana

Copa Centroamericana record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Costa Rica 1991 Champions 1st / 4 teams 3 3 0 0 10 1
Honduras 1993 Runners-Up 2nd / 4 teams 3 2 0 1 3 2
El Salvador 1995 Fourth Place 4th / 6 teams 4 1 1 2 5 6
Guatemala 1997 Champions 1st / 6 teams 5 3 2 0 12 3
Costa Rica 1999 Champions 1st / 6 teams 5 3 0 2 13 3
Honduras 2001 Runners-Up 2nd / 7 teams 5 2 2 1 8 5
Panama 2003 Champions 1st / 6 teams 5 4 1 0 5 1
Guatemala 2005 Champions 1st / 7 teams 4 3 1 0 8 2
El Salvador 2007 Champions 1st / 7 teams 4 2 1 1 5 2
Honduras 2009 Runners-Up 2nd / 7 teams 4 3 1 0 9 1
Panama 2011 Runners-Up 2nd / 7 teams 4 1 2 1 6 5
Costa Rica 2013 Champions 1st / 7 teams 5 4 1 0 6 1
United States 2014 Champions 1st / 7 teams 3 2 1 0 7 3
Total 8 Titles 12/12 54 33 13 8 99 35

Copa América

Copa América record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Ecuador 1993* Not Invited
Uruguay 1995
Bolivia 1997 Group Stage 10th / 12 teams 3 0 1 2 2 10
Paraguay 1999 Not Invited
Colombia 2001 Quarter Finals 5th / 12 teams 4 2 1 1 7 3
Peru 2004 7th / 12 teams 4 1 0 3 3 8
Venezuela 2007 Not Invited
Argentina 2011 Group Stage 9th / 12 teams 3 1 0 2 2 4
Chile 2015 Not Invited
United States 2016 Qualified
Total Quarterfinals 4/9 14 4 2 8 14 25
* Ecuador 1993 was the first time nations from outside CONMEBOL were invited.

CCCF Championship

CCCF Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Costa Rica 1941 Champions 1st / 5 teams 4 4 0 0 23 5
El Salvador 1943 Third Place 3rd / 4 teams 6 3 0 3 20 15
Costa Rica 1946 Champions 1st / 6 teams 5 4 0 1 24 6
Guatemala 1948 Champions 1st / 5 teams 8 5 1 2 25 11
Panama 1951 Runners-up 2nd / 3 teams 4 2 1 1 13 5
Costa Rica 1953 Champions 1st / 7 teams 6 6 0 0 19 2
Honduras 1955 Champions 1st / 7 teams 6 6 0 0 19 4
Netherlands Antilles 1957 Withdrew
Cuba 1960 Champions 1st / 5 teams 5 3 2 0 14 4
Costa Rica 1961 Champions 1st / 9 teams 7 7 0 0 32 4
Total 7 Titles 9/10 51 40 4 7 191 56

Olympics record

Olympics record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
France 1900 Did Not Enter
United States 1904
United Kingdom 1908
Sweden 1912
Belgium 1920
France 1924
Netherlands 1928
Nazi Germany 1936
United Kingdom 1948
Finland 1952
Australia 1956
Italy 1960
Japan 1964
Mexico 1968 Did Not Qualify
Germany 1972
Canada 1976
Soviet Union 1980 First Round 16 3 0 0 3 2 9
United States 1984 First Round 13 3 1 0 2 2 7
South Korea 1988 Did Not Qualify
Spain 1992
United States 1996
Australia 2000
Greece 2004 Quarter-finals 8 4 1 1 2 4 8
China 2008 Did Not Qualify
United Kingdom 2012
Total Quarter-finals 3/25 10 2 1 7 8 24

Pan American Games record

  • 1951 – Second Place
  • 1955 – Did not participate
  • 1959 – Fifth place
  • 1963 to 1971 – Did not participate
  • 1975 – Fourth place
  • 1979 – Round 2
  • 1983 to 1991 – Did not participate
  • Argentina 1995 – Quarterfinals
  • Canada 1999 – Round 1
  • Dominican Republic 2003 – Did not participate
  • Brazil 2007 – Round 1
  • Mexico 2011 – Semifinals

Panamerican Championship record

  • 1952 – Did not participate
  • 1956 – Third Place
  • 1960 – Fourth place

Honours

Costa Rica national football team players celebrating their classification at the FIFA World Cup 2014 for the round of 16 in first place of Group D at Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte after their draw with England.

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

Main article: Costa Rica national football team results

  Win   Draw   Loss


2015

26 March Friendly Costa Rica  0–0  Paraguay San José, Costa Rica
Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional
Referee: Jhon Pitti (Panama)
31 March Friendly Panama  2–1  Costa Rica Panama City, Panama
Pérez 17'
Tejada 25'		 Report Saborío 67' (pen.) Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernandez
Referee: Luis Santander (Mexico)
6 June Friendly Colombia  1–0  Costa Rica Buenos Aires, Argentina
16:15 (UTC−05:00) Falcao 47' Report Stadium: Estadio Diego Armando Maradona
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay)
11 June Friendly Spain  2–1  Costa Rica León, Spain
22:00 (UTC+1) Alcácer 8'
Fàbregas 30'		 Report Venegas 6' Stadium: Reino de León
Attendance: 13,000
Referee: Domagoj Vučkov (Croatia)
27 June Friendly Mexico  2–2  Costa Rica Orlando, United States
18:00 (UTC-5) G. dos Santos 53'
Hernández 55'		 Report Ramírez 4'
Layún 36' (o.g.)		 Stadium: Citrus Bowl
Attendance: 53,629
Referee: Edvin Jurisevic (United States)
8 July 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Costa Rica  2–2  Jamaica Carson, United States
20:00 (UTC−4) Miller 33'
Ramírez 37'		 Report McCleary 13'
McAnuff 48'		 Stadium: StubHub Center
Attendance: 22,648
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
11 July 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Costa Rica  1–1  El Salvador Houston, United States
21:00 (UTC−4) Ruiz 60' Report Corea 90+2' Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 22,017
Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
14 July 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Canada  0–0  Costa Rica Toronto, Canada
20:30 (UTC−4) Report Stadium: BMO Field
Attendance: 16,674
Referee: Héctor Rodríguez (Honduras)
19 July 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Mexico  1–0 (a.e.t.)  Costa Rica East Rutherford, United States
19:30 (UTC-4) Guardado 120+4' (pen.) Report Stadium: MetLife Stadium
Attendance: 74,187
Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)
5 September Friendly Costa Rica  0–1  Brazil Harrison,United States
16:00 (UTC-4) Report Hulk 10' Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 19,600
Referee: Mathieu Bordeau (Canada)
8 September Friendly Costa Rica  1–0  Uruguay San José, Costa Rica
20:00 (UTC-6) Ruiz 9' Stadium: Estadio Nacional
Attendance: 22,000
Referee: Jorge Rojas (Mexico)
8 October Friendly Costa Rica  0–1  South Africa San José, Costa Rica
20:00 (UTC-6) Andile Jali 10' Stadium: Estadio Nacional
13 October Friendly United States  0–1  Costa Rica Harrison, United States
18:30 (UTC-4) Report Campbell 70' Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 9,214
Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)
13 November 2018 FIFA WCQ Costa Rica  1–0  Haiti San José, Costa Rica
20:00 (UTC-6) Gamboa 29' Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)		 Stadium: Estadio Nacional[6]
Referee: Yadel Martínez (Cuba)
17 November 2018 FIFA WCQ Panama  1–2  Costa Rica Panama City, Panama
20:30 (UTC-5) Tejada 71' Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)		 Ruiz 66'
Ureña 69'		 Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernandez
Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)
15 December Friendly Costa Rica  1–0  Nicaragua Liberia, Costa Rica
Waston 59' Stadium: Estadio Edgardo Baltodano Briceño

2016

2 February Friendly Venezuela  1–0  Costa Rica Barinas, Venezuela
19:30 (UTC-4:30) Ángel 89' Stadium: Estadio Agustín Tovar
25 March 2018 FIFA WCQ Jamaica  v  Costa Rica Jamaica
29 March 2018 FIFA WCQ Costa Rica  v  Jamaica Costa Rica
28 May Friendly Costa Rica  v  Venezuela Costa Rica
31 May Friendly Argentina  v  Costa Rica Miami, United States
4 June Copa América Centenario Costa Rica  v  Paraguay Orlando, United States
Stadium: Orlando Citrus Bowl
7 June Copa América Centenario United States  v  Costa Rica Chicago, United States
Stadium: Soldier Field
11 June Copa América Centenario Colombia  v  Costa Rica Houston, United States
Stadium: NRG Stadium
2 September 2018 FIFA WCQ Haiti  v  Costa Rica Haiti
6 September 2018 FIFA WCQ Costa Rica  v  Panama Costa Rica

Current squad

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Keylor Navas (1986-12-15) 15 December 1986 (age 37) 64 0 Spain Real Madrid
1GK Esteban Alvarado (1989-04-28) 28 April 1989 (age 35) 11 0 Turkey Trabzonspor
2DF Júnior Díaz (1983-09-12) 12 September 1983 (age 41) 80 1 Germany Darmstadt 98
2DF Giancarlo González (1988-02-08) 8 February 1988 (age 36) 51 2 Italy Palermo
2DF Cristian Gamboa (1989-10-24) 24 October 1989 (age 35) 45 2 England West Bromwich Albion
2DF Bryan Oviedo (1990-02-18) 18 February 1990 (age 34) 28 1 England Everton
2DF Óscar Duarte (1989-06-03) 3 June 1989 (age 35) 26 2 Spain Espanyol
2DF Francisco Calvo (1992-07-08) 8 July 1992 (age 32) 11 0 Costa Rica Saprissa
2DF Ronald Matarrita (1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 30) 6 0 United States New York City
2DF Kendall Waston (1988-01-01) 1 January 1988 (age 36) 5 1 Canada Vancouver Whitecaps
2DF Felicio Brown (1991-08-28) 28 August 1991 (age 33) 1 0 Russia FC Rostov
3MF Celso Borges (1988-05-27) 27 May 1988 (age 36) 86 19 Spain Deportivo La Coruña
3MF Yeltsin Tejeda (1992-03-17) 17 March 1992 (age 32) 34 0 France Évian
3MF Johan Venegas (1988-11-27) 27 November 1988 (age 35) 20 4 Canada Montreal Impact
3MF Rodney Wallace (1988-06-17) 17 June 1988 (age 36) 14 3 Portugal Arouca
3MF Elías Aguilar (1991-11-07) 7 November 1991 (age 33) 8 0 Costa Rica Herediano
3MF Juan Bustos Golobio (1992-07-09) 9 July 1992 (age 32) 5 2 Costa Rica Saprissa
4FW Álvaro Saborío (1982-03-22) 22 March 1982 (age 42) 105 35 United States D.C. United
4FW Bryan Ruiz (Captain) (1985-08-18) 18 August 1985 (age 39) 85 20 Portugal Sporting
4FW Joel Campbell (1992-06-26) 26 June 1992 (age 32) 56 11 England Arsenal
4FW Marco Ureña (1990-03-05) 5 March 1990 (age 34) 38 10 Denmark Midtjylland
4FW David Ramírez (1993-05-28) 28 May 1993 (age 31) 11 3 Costa Rica Saprissa
4FW John Jairo Ruiz (1994-01-10) 10 January 1994 (age 30) 4 1 Ukraine Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Patrick Pemberton (1982-05-24) 24 May 1982 (age 42) 27 0 Costa Rica Alajuelense v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
GK Marco Madrigal (1985-08-03) 3 August 1985 (age 39) 2 0 Costa Rica Santos de Guápiles v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
GK Leonel Moreira (1990-04-02) 2 April 1990 (age 34) 5 0 Costa Rica Herediano v. Panama, 17 November 2015
DF Jordan Smith (1991-04-23) 23 April 1991 (age 33) 3 0 Canada Vancouver Whitecaps v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
DF Johnny Acosta (1983-07-21) 21 July 1983 (age 41) 38 1 Costa Rica Alajuelense v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
DF José Mena (1989-02-02) 2 February 1989 (age 35) 7 0 Costa Rica UCR v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
DF Waylon Francis (1990-09-20) 20 September 1990 (age 34) 4 0 United States Columbus Crew v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
DF Heyrel Savaria (1992-10-06) 6 October 1992 (age 32) 2 0 Costa Rica Belén v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
DF Allan Miranda (1987-05-28) 28 May 1987 (age 37) 1 0 Costa Rica Herediano v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
DF Bismark Acosta (1986-12-19) 19 December 1986 (age 37) 8 0 Norway Brann v. Nicaragua, 15 December 2015
DF David Myrie (1988-06-01) 1 June 1988 (age 36) 24 0 Costa Rica Herediano v. Panama, 17 November 2015
DF Roy Miller (1984-11-24) 24 November 1984 (age 39) 59 2 Costa Rica Saprissa 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
DF Michael Umaña (1982-07-16) 16 July 1982 (age 42) 92 1 Iran Persepolis 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup WD
MF Randall Azofeifa (1984-12-30) 30 December 1984 (age 39) 37 1 Costa Rica Herediano v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
FW Daniel Colindres (1985-05-28) 28 May 1985 (age 39) 5 0 Costa Rica Saprissa v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
MF Luis Miguel Valle (1989-04-11) 11 April 1989 (age 35) 3 0 Costa Rica Alajuelense v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
MF José Sánchez (1987-05-20) 20 May 1987 (age 37) 1 1 Costa Rica Herediano v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
DF Mauricio Montero (1987-03-28) 28 March 1987 (age 37) 1 0 Costa Rica UCR v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
DF Júnior Alvarado (1988-07-03) 3 July 1988 (age 36) 1 0 Costa Rica Belén v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
MF Christian Bolaños (1984-05-30) 30 May 1984 (age 40) 55 2 Canada Vancouver Whitecaps v. Panama, 17 November 2015
MF Óscar Granados (1985-10-25) 25 October 1985 (age 39) 14 0 Costa Rica Herediano v. Panama, 17 November 2015
MF David Guzmán (1990-02-18) 18 February 1990 (age 34) 19 0 Costa Rica Saprissa v. United States, 13 October 2015
MF Deyver Vega (1992-09-19) 19 September 1992 (age 32) 9 0 Norway Brann v. United States, 13 October 2015
MF José Miguel Cubero (1987-02-14) 14 February 1987 (age 37) 48 2 Costa Rica Herediano 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
FW Josué Martínez (1990-03-25) 25 March 1990 (age 34) 16 2 Costa Rica UCR v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
FW Kenny Cunningham (1985-06-07) 7 June 1985 (age 39) 13 1 Costa Rica Herediano v. Venezuela, 2 February 2016
FW Mayron George (1993-10-23) 23 October 1993 (age 31) 3 0 Denmark Hobro v. Nicaragua, 15 December 2015
FW Ariel Rodríguez (1989-09-27) 27 September 1989 (age 35) 0 0 Thailand Bangkok Glass v. Panama, 17 November 2015
FW Jonathan Moya (1992-01-06) 6 January 1992 (age 32) 2 0 Costa Rica Saprissa 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup

PRE Preliminary squad.
WD Withdrew for personal reasons.

Previous squads

Records

As of November 17, 2015.
Bold indicates active players.

Managers

 
Name Years
Costa Rica Eladio Rosabal Cordero 1921
Costa Rica Manolo Rodríguez 1930
El SalvadorCosta RicaSpain Ricardo Saprissa 1935, 1938
Costa Rica Alejandro Morera Soto 1941
Costa Rica Jorge Lalo Rojas 1943
Costa Rica Alejandro Morera Soto 1943
Costa Rica Hernán Bolaños 1946
England Randolph Galloway
Costa Rica Hernán Bolaños		 1946
Costa Rica Hernán Bolaños 1948
Costa Rica Santiago Bonilla 1950
Costa Rica Ismael Melo Quesada 1951
El SalvadorSpain Ricardo Saprissa
Costa Rica Luis Cartín Paniagua		 1951
BrazilSpain Otto Bumbel 1953
Costa Rica Alfredo Chato Piedra 1955, 1957
Uruguay Rubén Amorín 1960
Chile Hugo Tassara Olivares 1960
Spain Eduardo Toba Muíño 1961
Costa Rica Alfredo Chato Piedra 1961, 1963
Spain Eduardo Viso Abella
Costa Rica Alfredo Chato Piedra
Costa Rica Mario "Catato" Cordero		 1965
Costa Rica Rodolfo Ulloa Antillón 1967–1968
HungaryBrazil Américo Brunner 1968
 
Name Years
Costa Rica Rogelio Rojas 1969
Costa Rica Marvin Rodríguez 1969
Spain Eduardo Viso Abella 1970
Costa Rica Marvin Rodríguez 1971
Argentina Humberto Maschio 1972
Uruguay José Etchegoyen 1975
Costa Rica Marvin Rodríguez 1975
Costa Rica Juan José Gámez 1976
Spain Antonio Moyano Reina 1979–80
Czechoslovakia Ivan Mráz 1980
Spain Antonio Moyano Reina 1983–84
BrazilCosta Rica Odir Jacques 1985
Costa Rica Álvaro Grant MacDonald 1985
Uruguay Gustavo De Simone 1987–89
Spain Antonio Moyano Reina
Costa Rica Marvin Rodríguez		 1989
Costa Rica Marvin Rodríguez 1989–90
Socialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaMexico Bora Milutinović 1990
Costa Rica Rolando Villalobos 1991
Uruguay Héctor Núñez 1992
Costa Rica Juan José Gámez 1993
Costa Rica Álvaro Grant MacDonald 1993
SpainCosta Rica Juan Luis Hernández Fuertes 1993–94
Spain Antonio Moyano Reina 1994
 
Name Years
Costa Rica Toribio Rojas 1994–95
Costa Rica Juan Blanco 1995
Brazil Valdeir Vieira 1996
Argentina Horacio Cordero 1997
SpainCosta Rica Juan Luis Hernández Fuertes 1997
Costa Rica Rolando Villalobos 1998
Colombia Francisco Maturana 1998–99
Costa Rica Marvin Rodríguez 1999–00
Brazil Gílson Nunes 2000
BrazilCosta Rica Alexandre Guimarães 2001–02
Costa Rica Rodrigo Kenton 2002*
United States Steve Sampson 2003–04
Colombia Jorge Luis Pinto 2004–05
BrazilCosta Rica Alexandre Guimarães 2005–06
Costa Rica Carlos Watson 2006*
Costa Rica Hernán Medford 2007–08
Costa Rica Rodrigo Kenton 2008–09
Brazil Renê Simões 2009
Costa Rica Rónald González Brenes 2010*
Argentina Ricardo La Volpe 2010–2011
Colombia Jorge Luis Pinto 2011–2014
Costa Rica Paulo Wanchope 2014–2015
Costa Rica Oscar Ramirez 2015–

Coaching staff

Position Name
Manager Oscar Ramírez
Assistant Coach 1 Vacant
Assistant Coach 2 Luis Marín
Goalkeeper's Coach Luis Gabelo Conejo

Record versus other nations

As of 2011-03-25

Facts

Kit history

Costa Rica wears traditionally a red jersey with blue shorts and white socks. Its away kit historically was a Juventus-style Black and White Striped Jersey with white shorts and white socks.(due to these colors being the ones of CS La Libertad, one of the oldest clubs in Costa Rica) However, after 1997, the striped kit was replaced by a white kit with blue shorts. Starting in 2015, Boston based sportswear company New Balance will be the kit provider of the national team, taking over for Italian company Lotto.

1990 Home (Vs Scotland)
1990 Home (Vs Czechoslovakia)
1990 Away
1997 Copa América Home
2000 Home
2002 Home
2014 World Cup away

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Hopes of Central America Rest on a Perpetual Underdog : World Cup 2014: Costa Rica Could Learn From Uruguay's Example". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  2. ^ "When Saturday Comes – Costa Rica goes crazy for the "team of migrants"". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  3. ^ Romero, Marcos (28 August 2009). "Costa Rica International Soccer Matches Since 1920". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  4. ^ "U.S. win stands as Costa Rica appeal blown away". CNN. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  5. ^ "U.S. downs Costa Rica 1–0 in Gold Cup group stage, advances to quarters". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Paulo Wanchope: "Nuestra casa es el Estadio Nacional"". Teletica Template:Es. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  7. ^ a b Luis Fernando Passo Alpuin. "Costa Rica – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
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Preceded by
Inaugural Champion
 CONCACAF Champions
1963 (First title) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by CONCACAF Champions
1969 (Second title) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by CONCACAF Champions
1989 (Third title) 		Succeeded by

Template:CONCACAF Gold Cup Winners

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