Everything about The Costa Rica National Football Team totally explained
The
Costa Rica national football team, nicknamed
La Sele, is the national team of
Costa Rica and is controlled by the
Federación Costarricense de Fútbol. Costa Rica is the third most successful team in CONCACAF after
Mexico and the
United States, and the most successful team in
Central America having qualified for three
World Cups, reaching the last sixteen on their debut in
Italy 1990 and putting up a solid showing in
2002 where they'd the misfortune to be drawn in the same group as eventual champions
Brazil and third-place finishing
Turkey. In 2006,
Los Ticos qualified for the
World Cup in
Germany, with their worst World Cup finish ever, finishing 31st out of 32 teams.
Costa Rica have been
North American champions three times (
1963, 1969, 1989) and have won the
UNCAF Nations Cup six times. The nation has also been invited to participate in three
Copa América, making the quarterfinals on their last two visits.
History
Costa Rica has a long-standing football culture and tradition. Throughout the 50s and 60s, and 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 in this period Ruben Jimenez, Errol Daniels, Leonel Hernandez and Edgar Marin. Currently its topscorer is
Rolando Fonseca with 47 goals.
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. Costa Rica failed to make the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying until the 1986 qualifiers.
The 1990 World Cup qualifiers represented a breakthrough. The expulsion of regional powerhouse Mexico from qualifying after they fielded overage players in a youth tournament resulted in a very open field. Costa Rica topped the final qualifying group to qualify for the World Cup for the first time. In the 1990 World Cup they'd defeat Sweden and Scotland to reach the second round.
Once again, Costa Rica would reach the final stages of qualifying in the 1998 series, but fell short of qualification for the 1998 World Cup. They have since qualified for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. In
2002 they were drawn in Group C, with
Brazil,
Turkey and
China. They came 3rd in the group, only losing out to Turkey on goal difference, both on 4 points. In
2006 they were drawn into Group A, with
Germany,
Poland and
Ecuador. Costa Rica played Germany in the opening match of the 2006 Fifa world cup, but they lost 4-2. Their second match, against Ecuador, was a 3-0 defeat. With Poland defeated by Ecuador and Germany and eliminated, Costa Rica played them for the fight for 3rd place. Costa Rica opened the scoring on 25 minutes, but two headers from Poland gave them the 2-1 win. Costa Rica were one of the teams who finished the group stages with zero points.
Coaching Staff
Head Coach
Competitive Record
World Cup Record
| Year |
Round |
GP |
W |
D* |
L |
GS |
GA |
| 1930 |
Did not Enter |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1934 |
Did Not Enter |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1938 |
Withdrew |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1950 |
Did Not Enter |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1954 |
Entry not accepted by FIFA |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1958 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1962 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1966 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1970 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1974 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1978 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1982 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1986 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1990 |
Round 2 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
| 1994 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1998 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 2002 |
Round 1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
| 2006 |
Round 1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
| Total |
3/18 |
10 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
12 |
21 |
**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
CONCACAF Championships Record
| Year |
Round |
GP |
W |
D* |
L |
GS |
GA |
| 1963 |
Champions |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
| 1965 |
Third Place |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
11 |
4 |
| 1967 |
Withdrew |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1969 |
Champions |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
13 |
2 |
| 1971 |
Third Place |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
| 1973 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1977 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1981 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1985 |
Third Place |
4 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
| 1989 |
Champions |
8 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
10 |
6 |
| 1991 |
Fourth place |
5 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
| 1993 |
Semi-Final |
5 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
| 1996 |
Did Not Qualify |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1998 |
Round 1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
| 2000 |
Quarter-Final |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
| 2002 |
Final |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
5 |
| 2003 |
Fourth place |
5 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
8 |
| 2005 |
Quarter-Final |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
4 |
| 2007 |
Quarter-Final |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Total |
3 Titles |
63 |
27 |
16 |
20 |
102 |
69 |
CCCF Championship results
1941 - Champions
1943 - Third place
1946 - Champions
1948 - Champions
1951 - Second Place
1953 - Champions
1955 - Champions
1957 - Not disputed
1960 - Champions
1961 - Champions
1991 - Champions
1993 - Second place
1995 - Fourth place
1997 - Champions
1999 - Champions
2001 - Second place
2003 - Champions
2005 - Champions
2007 - Champions
Copa América record
1997 - Round 1
2001 - Quarterfinals
2004 - Quarterfinals
Pan American Games record
1951 - Second Place
1955 - Did not compete
1959 - Fifth place
1963 - Did not compete
1967 - Did not compete
1971 - Did not compete
1975 - Fourth place
1979 - Round 2
1983 - Did not compete
1987 - Did not compete
1991 - Did not compete
1995 - Quarterfinals
1999 - Round 1
2003 - Did not compete
2007 -
Trivia
Costa Rica is the only CONCACAF team to ever beat Mexico in the Azteca Stadium and the first team to do so in 27 years, during the World Cup qualifying round ("Aztecazo": 1-2, June 16, 2001)
Costa Rica is the only Central American team to qualify to the World Cup tournament consecutively, in 2002 and 2006;
Costa Rica holds the record for most participations to World Cup tournaments of a Central American team, with three appearances Italy 1990, Japan&Korea 2002 and Germany 2006;
Costa Rica is the first (and so far the only one) Central American team to beat a European team in the World Cup (Costa Rica - Scotland 1-0, Sweden -Costa Rica 1-2, Italy '90) and the only Central American team to win at least one World Cup game.
Costa Rica is the only Central American team to ever reach the knock-out stage of a World Cup achieved after eliminating Sweden. They are one of the four teams ever from CONCACAF to reach the second round (after United States, Cuba, and Mexico).
In 2002 World Cup, Costa Rica was placed in the initial group of the 1st place (Brazil) and 3rd place (Turkey) at 2002 World Cup. The team tied against Turkey and lost 2-5 against Brazil, however, was the only team in the World Cup to score more than once against Brazil and has been the only team to score more than one against Brazil since Brazil lost to France 0-3 in the 1998 final.
Costa Rica achieved their historic 1000th career goal (Rolando Fonseca) in the 1:1 draw against Chile, in an international friendly, at the Fiscal Stadium in Talca sharing the record only with México on the region.
Current Squad
Recent Call Ups
Notable Players
Players Abroad
Further Information
Get more info on 'Costa Rica National Football Team'.
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