FIFA Ranking: 31
Odds: 500-1
Previous tournaments:
Costa Rica have appeared in five World Cups since their debut in 1990. Their best performance came in 2014 when they topped a group with Uruguay, Italy and England before they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Netherlands on penalties.
However, they crashed out in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup after finishing bottom without a win.
How they qualified:
Costa Rica failed to grab an automatic berth after finishing fourth in the Concacaf qualifiers behind Canada, Mexico and the United States. They had an identical record to the US but missed out on third spot due to goal difference.
Six of Costa Rica’s seven wins were by one-goal margins and that trend continued in the inter-confederation playoff where they beat New Zealand 1-0 in June to qualify.
Form guide:
Since beating the US in their final World Cup qualifier, Costa Rica have had mixed results in the Concacaf Nations League, losing to Panama but beating Martinique.
However, they stepped up their preparations for the World Cup in September with a 2-2 draw against South Korea after going down to 10 men, following it up with a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Uzbekistan when both of their goals came in injury time.
Costa Rica rely on experience
Costa Rica were the last team to qualify for the World Cup but the Central American side will travel to Qatar hoping to avoid making a swift exit like they did in Russia four years ago.
Playing in their sixth World Cup, Costa Rica are no longer minnows and Luis Fernando Suarez’s squad will be expected to do more than just make up the numbers in the 32-team tournament.
They shocked the world in 2014 when they had their best run at the finals in a ‘Group of Death’ with three heavyweights – Uruguay, Italy and England.
They defied overwhelming odds to top the group without losing and conceded one goal – a penalty. But their luck ran out in the quarter-finals when they were dumped out by the Netherlands in a shootout.
Six players from that Costa Rica squad, who are all on the wrong side of 30, are expected to fly to Qatar – goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Bryan Ruiz, Joel Campbell, Oscar Duarte, Yeltsin Tejeda and Celso Borges.
The same players also featured at the World Cup in 2018 and, although Costa Rica were eliminated in the group stage, Suarez has a core of senior men with tournament experience to count on.
Suarez has built his team on defensive solidity, which saw them concede only eight goals in qualifying, while they were dangerous on the counter-attack. But they did not have the best start to their qualifiers with six points from seven games.
They quickly turned things around, though, with six wins and a draw in the second half of the campaign to advance to the intercontinental playoff, where they beat New Zealand to seal the last spot at the World Cup.
Although Suarez had been slammed for picking ageing veterans like 35-year-old Navas and Bryan Ruiz, 37, in their quest to qualify, he was vindicated when they punched their ticket to Qatar.
Suarez is something of a World Cup veteran himself. He coached Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup before leading Honduras at the 2014 edition.
Having taking over the Costa Rica squad last year to guide them to Qatar, he will be the sixth coach in history to manage a team at three World Cups.
Team announced :
Keylor Navas , Esteban Alvarado , Patrick Sequeira , Francisco Calvo , Juan Pablo Vargas , Kendall Waston , Oscar Duarte , Daniel Chacon , Keysher Fuller , Carlos Martinez , Bryan Oviedo , Ronald Matarrita , Yeltsin Tejeda , Celso Borges , Youstin Salas , Roan Wilson , Gerson Torres , Douglas Lopez , Jewisson Bennette , Alvaro Zamora , Anthony Hernandez , Brandon Aguilera , Bryan Ruiz , Joel Campbell , Anthony Contreras and Johan Venegas.
