This will only be Costa Rica’s third appearance at the World Cup. The team failed to qualify for the last competition and in both 2002 and 2006 it failed to progress pass the Group Stage. The best result was reaching the Round of 16 and finishing 13th in 1996. However, in FIFA Rankings the team is one of the most improved sides over the past year thanks to a strong qualifying campaign.
Style
Costa Rica tends to play in 5-4-1 formation which greatly aids the teams defence. The formation also suits player Bryan Ruiz who is undoubtedly the star attacking playing and gives him freedom of movement. The team doesn’t tend to pass the ball around much; instead individual players will try to retain possession of the ball.
Strengths
Costa Rica nearly always starts off well and during qualifying scored an impressive number of goals in the first 15 minutes of matches. The team also scored extremely well from headers. In terms of defence the team managed to block long range efforts well and didn’t concede many goals from outside the box. Furthermore, the team recently managed to play for 476 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.
Weaknesses
Despite being strong defensively, the team struggled to keep possession of the ball and seemed to tire easily. During qualifiers the team only out-possessed one side, Panama. Furthermore, the team’s attack sometimes fails to deliver and in nearly a third of matches they failed to score.
World Cup Group Stage
- Uruguay vs Costa Rica – Saturday, 14 June 2014, Match Preview
- Italy vs Costa Rica – Friday, 20 June 2014 Match Preview
- Costa Rica vs England -Tuesday, 24 June 2014, Match Preview
