The “Ticos” capped off an amazing comeback in the Concacaf qualifying stage with a win over New Zealand in Qatar over the summer to punch their ticket to the World Cup. Costa Rica is actually the Concacaf team that has been most successful out of all of the Concacaf teams in the last World Cups. Having played the Quarter Finals in the tournament that took place in Brazil. The problem for Costa Rica is that they have not been able to replace that 2014 generation entirely.
Still relying heavily on players like Celso Ortiz, and Bryan Ruiz, who were great players for the Central American side. It’s just that they’ve seen better days, and at this point they’d have to drink from the fountain of youth before the World Cup if the “Ticos” want to play deep into the tournament. So are we saying they’re done? Not quite there’s still a strategy that they could follow!
Defense Is The Name Of The Game For Costa Rica
The good thing for Costa Rica is that they don’t have any issues with playing well defensively and having that be the driving force for the team. Francisco Calvo, and Oscar Duarte have been playing together in that back line for years. Of course, they have Keylor Navas between the sticks. Even though he’s lost his starting role at PSG he’s still widely considered one of the top goalkeepers on the planet. They have renovated their left and right backs that could be a cause for concern in a certain sense. This is a team that relies a lot on experience, and they need to make sure that some of the younger players fall in line, and don’t show that the moment is too big for them.
Although defense is the name of the game Costa Rica still has Joel Campbell, and Anthony Contreras up front who are strikers accustomed to play off the ball. They can go on long runs and score essentially that one goal that Costa Rica needs to make the game even tougher on the opposing team.
They’ve Been Here Before
As we mentioned this is mostly a group that has been here before. A lot of times with some of these teams that feature players that play in lower tier leagues they just get star struck. Costa Rica players in their home country don’t go up against the likes of Pedri, or Busquests for Spain on a regular basis. The same goes for Neuer, or Kroos for Germany. They have though competed well on the international stage, and showed that they’re not just there to ask for autographs at the end of the game.
In the Brazil tournament they were in a group with Italy, England, and Uruguay, and managed to win the group! Like we said these guys are not going to be starstruck, and also they’re not going to be trying to play a game that they are not comfortable with. They won’t play a 4-3-3 formation versus Spain, and try to go toe to toe with them. They’ll play defense, and let the game play itself out.
Our Prediction
Although we’d love to see Costa Rica once again make a magical run in the World Cup, the problem is the age of some of their key players. In the game against New Zealand Borges sadly showed his age. Bryan Ruiz can realistically give you like 5 minutes a game with limited mobility. The group is just too tough. Germany and Spain look to be the clear favorites in this group. We’ve seen this movie before though. Those 2 European teams would do well to not look past Costa Rica. If they do, they could be surprised.
