[LIVE#] Scotland - Costa Rica live 11 April 2023
Costa Rica rose 12 places to 16th in the FIFA World Rankings. Former player Rónald González cited their long-term progress since 2007 as the reason for their achievement. [11] 2018 World Cup[edit] The Ticos' qualification for the 2018 World Cup started with a bye to the fourth qualifying round, where they won five games and drew one, winning their group. In the final round, they finished second behind Mexico to qualify automatically, winning four matches, drawing four and losing two. +9 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup 4–0 19 6–0 −12 Costa Rica were drawn in Group E alongside Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia.
Against Brazil, Costa Rica fought back from 3–0 down to 3–2 early in the second half, only to concede two further goals and lose 5–2. With Turkey beating China 3–0, Costa Rica finished behind Turkey on goal difference and were eliminated. +8 Turkey China −9 2006 World Cup[edit] Costa Rica again managed to qualify for the World Cup finals in 2006, albeit with difficulties that saw their American coach Steve Sampson depart after they required away goals to beat Cuba in the preliminary phase. The Colombian Jorge Luis Pinto took over for the next round, which began with a disastrous 5–2 defeat at home against Honduras and a 2–1 loss in Guatemala.
In the final, Costa Rica defeated 6–0 Guatemala to claim the trophy. [6] Costa Rica's team in the late 1940s acquired the nickname "The Gold Shorties". [7] Throughout the '50s and '60s, they were 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 included Ruben Jimenez, Errol Daniels, Leonel Hernandez and Edgar Marin.
In Los Angeles, the Ticos lost 3–0 against the United States, and 4–1 against Egypt, but beat a strong Italy team, which included Walter Zenga, Pietro Vierchowod, Franco Baresi and Aldo Serena, 1–0 with a goal by the midfielder Enrique Rivers. 1990 World Cup[edit] Team that played against Scotland in the World Cup Italy 1990 Costa Rica won the 1989 CONCACAF Championship to qualify for the finals of a World Cup for the first time.
Costa Rica is the most successful national football team from the region of Central America. Winning three CONCACAF Championships (1963, 1969, 1989) and leading the Copa Centroamericana tournament with four championships up until 2017, when it was absorbed into the CONCACAF Nations League. Costa Rica is the only national team in Central America to have played in six 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.
Rónald González was the interim coach before Ricardo La Volpe was appointed in September 2010. He lasted only ten months before being replaced by the Colombian, Jorge Luis Pinto, in his second spell in charge. During this period, Costa Rica played many friendlies against the top-ranked teams in the world, including the world champion Spain, most of them in the new national stadium, the Estadio Nacional, which was opened in 2011. 2014 World Cup[edit] The Ticos' 2014 World Cup campaign began with a 2–2 draw against El Salvador in the third round of the qualifiers.
Many key players from 2014 tournament remained in the squad, but they made a disappointing exit at the group stage. Costa Rica lost their first two games, against Serbia and Brazil, without scoring, but drew 2–2 with Switzerland in their last match after equalising in injury time. Switzerland Serbia 2022 World Cup[edit] The Ticos' qualification for the 2022 World Cup started with a bye to the final qualifying round, they finished fourth behind United States to advance to inter-confederation play-offs winning seven matches, drawing four and losing three. In the inter-confederation play-offs in Al Rayyan, Costa Rica won the match 1–0 against New Zealand and qualified for the World Cup.
Pos Teamvte Qualification Brazil Advance to knockout stage +1 Scotland −1 Sweden 2002 World Cup[edit] The Ticos won the qualification for the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. During the qualifiers, Costa Rica were coached by the Brazilian, Gílson Nunes, and then by the naturalised Brazilian, Alexandre Guimarães. The first qualifying group stage began with an unexpected 2–1 defeat to Barbados. After this humiliation, Costa Rica beat the United States 2–1 at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium, with goals from Rolando Fonseca and Hernán Medford. They then beat Guatemala 2–1 in the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, with two goals from Paulo Wanchope and Barbados 3–0 at the Ricardo Saprissa, with goals from Jafet Soto, Fonseca and Medford.