Four years ago in Brazil, Costa Rica amazingly reached the quarter-final and won many hearts after beating some of the world’s powerhouses. Now a lot of players from that team are getting ready for the tournament in Russia, and they harbour hopes to produce another sensation.


Good memories from 2014

The 2014 World Cup was like a fairy tale for Los Ticos. The team coached by Jorge Luis Pinto started to shock the football world early in the tournament, as they topped the “group of death” with former world champions Italy, Spain and Uruguay. In the Last 16, the Central American side faced Greece, and won on penalty following a 1:1 draw. And the quarter-final against Holland featured another penalty shootout after a 0:0 draw, yet this time Lady Luck turned away from Costa Rica. If a five-million nation had reached the semi-final, it would have been something extraordinary - but the place among top eight teams was already a fantastic result.

After the World Cup, the head coach Pinto was replaced by Paulo Wanchope, yet the latter had to step down a few months later following a post-match fight with a steward. Then Oscar Ramirez took charge, and, as it seems now, it was a good decision. Under Ramirez, Los Ticos comfortably qualified for the World Cup, booking their ticket to Russia with two matches to go. In the CONCACAF zone, Costa Rica finished second behind Mexico, and ahead of Panama, Honduras and United States.


Navas is the superhero

The Costa Rican squad is full of experienced players, as Ramirez trusts those who participated in the successful 2014 campaign. The brightest star is most definitely the goalkeeper Keylor Navas. The World Cup in Brazil saw a number of Latin American goalies rising to prominence, such as Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa or Chile’s Claudio Bravo, but it was Navas whose career has developed in the best way since then. In the same year of 2014, he deserved a transfer from Levante to Real Madrid, where he gradually became the first-choice goalkeeper and won a number of trophies, including the Champions League.

At 31, Navas seems to be in his prime. No doubt, he is the superhero of Costa Rica and one of the best goalkeepers in the world, yet he is not the only prominent figure in the national team. Their attack can also be prolific as it features Bryan Ruiz from Sporting Lisbon - the national team captain - as well as Joel Campbell, who is playing for Real Betis on loan from Arsenal. In midfield, they have Celso Borges from Deportivo La Coruna, who has played more than a hundred matches for the national team by the age of 30. And in defense, Bologna’s Giancarlo Gonzalez, Celtic’s Cristian Gamboa and Sunderland’s Bryan Oviedo have gained enough experience while playing for European clubs.


Giant killers

Costa Rica is a small country which does not generate a big number of of high-quality footballers. Team effort is essential for getting successful results, and the head coach Ramirez has much work to do. Actually, reaching the World Cup finals is already a great result for the nation - it is only the fifth time in history that Los Ticos have completed that job. But keeping in mind the miracle of 2014, obviously they would like to surprize the world once again.

Costa Rica enter the World Cup with the hopes of progressing from the group where they are scheduled to meet Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland. Even with their reputation of giant killers, it will be extremely difficult for Los Ticos to beat Brazil, so their only chance to get through is to do it at the expense of both European sides. And of course the team’s performance will be highly dependent on Navas - if the goalkeeper is in great form during the tournament, Costa Rica will possibly have a chance to repeat their 2014 glory.