Costa Rica was the second team to publish their confirmed 26-man squad list for the FIFA World Cup 2022. The team is making its sixth participation in the FIFA tournament through the event that is happening in Qatar. When talking about Costa Rica in the world cup, the country’s performance in 2014 is unforgettable where the team made it to the quarterfinals, their best record ever. The country however failed to achieve a similar feat in the following FIFA edition in 2018. Though now that the 2022 World Cup is about to kick off from day 1, every team has an almost equal chance to go as far as they can and even lift the trophy including Costa Rica. So who are the faces who have been given the task to do so for this South American team?
First off, Paris Saint Germain goalkeeper and three-time UCL winner with Real Madrid Keylor Navas, the man who showed a majestic shot-stopping skill in Brazil eight years ago is the one name that is the highlight in the 26-man roster.
Former Arsenal poacher, Joel Campbell is also on the list along with ex-Fulham midfielder and currently Sunderland’s Jewison Bennette. Who else has been officially called?
Final List Of Costa Rica Team For FIFA World Cup 2022
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Esteban Alvarado | Herediano (CRC) | 33 | 24 |
| Goalkeeper | Keylor Navas | PSG (FRA) | 35 | 107 |
| Goalkeeper | Patrick Sequeira | CD Lugo (SPA) | 23 | 2 |
| Defender | Francisco Calvo | Konyaspor (TUR) | 30 | 75 |
| Defender | Daniel Chacon | Colorado Rapids (USA) | 21 | 8 |
| Defender | Oscar Duarte | Al-Wehda (SAU) | 33 | 70 |
| Defender | Keysher Fuller | Herediano (CRC) | 28 | 29 |
| Defender | Carlos Martinez | San Carlos (CRC) | 23 | 5 |
| Defender | Ronaldo Matarrita | FC Cincinnati (USA) | 28 | 52 |
| Defender | Bryan Oviedo | Real Salt Lake (USA) | 32 | 74 |
| Defender | Juan Pablo Vargas | Millonarios (COL) | 27 | 11 |
| Defender | Kendall Waston | Saprissa (CRC) | 34 | 61 |
| Midfielder | Brandon Aguilera | Nott’m Forest (ENG) Guanacasteca (CRC) | 19 | 4 |
| Midfielder | Jewison Bennette | Sunderland (ENG) | 18 | 7 |
| Midfielder | Celso Borges | Alajuelense (CRC) | 34 | 154 |
| Midfielder | Anthony Hernandez | Puntarenas (CRC) | 21 | 2 |
| Midfielder | Douglas Lopez | Herediano (CRC) | 24 | 2 |
| Midfielder | Bryan Ruiz | Alajuelense (CRC) | 37 | 144 |
| Midfielder | Youstin Salas | Saprissa (CRC) | 26 | 3 |
| Midfielder | Yeltsin Tejeda | Herediano (CRC) | 30 | 73 |
| Midfielder | Gerson Torres | Herediano (CRC) | 25 | 12 |
| Midfielder | Roan Wilson | Grecia (CRC) | 20 | 2 |
| Midfielder | Alvaro Zamora | Saprissa (CRC) | 20 | 2 |
| Forward | Joel Campbell | Club Leon (MEX) | 30 | 118 |
| Forward | Anthony Contreras | Herediano (CRC) | 22 | 8 |
| Forward | Johan Venegas | Alajuelense (CRC) | 33 | 80 |
Group Table
Costa Rica’s group table has been talked about since the time it was first mapped out. It’s their presence itself that has made their pool so unpredictable despite Germany and Spain being clear favorites. The other team that they will be competing against is Japan.
Costa Rica Group Fixtures
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | Stadium |
| Wed, Nov. 23 | Spain vs. Costa Rica | 11 a.m. | Al Thumama |
| Sun, Nov. 27 | Japan vs. Costa Rica | 5 a.m. | Ahmad Bin Ali |
| Thurs, Dec. 1 | Costa Rica vs. Germany | 2 p.m. | Al Bayt |
Costa Rica Strengths
Their recent history should be enough to terrorize their opponents whether it’s in the group stage or further.
Los Ticos coach Luis Fernando Suarez was able to upgrade the aging squad with 22 new players in just 15 months and more than half of them worked really well in Costa Rica’s journey to Qatar.
Their New Zealand performance in the intercontinental playoff quite recently was almost identical to the spirit and game plan that they had during their extraordinary time in Brazil in 2014.
They just are by default hard to penetrate and adamant to let too many goals in their own net. They compelled even the polished striker to take low-quality shots from outside the box. Oscar Duarte and Francisco Calvo’s strong defense pairing, which even waters the mouth of top European powerhouses, is still intact.
The still-in-play sharp reflexes of Ballondr nominee shot stopper Keylor Navas, despite being the second-choice keeper in PSG.
Costa Rica Weaknesses
Costa Rica doesn’t score too many goals. Their victories are often marginal. The group in which they are situated has a decent chance of asking them about attractive goal differences in the end. In fact, Costa Rica is the only team to qualify for the world cup with the least amount of goals.
Their biased priority to defend puts extra pressure on their front line who will have big obligations to do something decisive within too few chances they get in the game.
The team is also confused between players who have quite some time to retire and the young ones who do not have any senior experience.
Expectations From Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s group’s magnitude in Qatar is quite similar to the ones that they had in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. It was one of the groups that you didn’t want to be a part of, the other being that of Spain, Netherlands, Chile, and Australia in Group B of the same tournament.
Speaking of the event in Brazil, Costa Rica got not one but three former world cup winners, England, Uruguay, and Italy. la Sele stunned the tournament watchers when they not only remained undefeated against all three opponents but also topped their group after besting Italy and Uruguay on the way.
However, they no more seem to be the team that they were eight years ago. This time, they had to fight until the end to make it to Qatar; the Tricolor secured the place in FIFA 2022 after defeating New Zealand in an intercontinental playoff.
Also, their last world cup in Russia wasn’t what the world was hoping; the South American side failed to make it past the group stage after failing to secure a single win in their games against Brazil, Switzerland, and Serbia.
As for this one, forecasters have predicted them to finish even behind Japan at the bottom.
