History in the World Cup:
They have qualified for 4 of the last 5 world cups and have become a regular at the World Cup finals in recent years. They were the surprise package in the 2014 edition as they reached the quarterfinals after qualifying from a group containing Italy , Uruguay and England while pulling off impressive wins over Uruguay and Italy.
Current Form:
Their current form suggests they may not be able to pull off a similar feat at this year’s edition with 3 wins , 2 draws and 5 losses in their last 10 games which includes losses against Tunisia and Panama. They have scored 7 goals and conceded 12 in that time which suggests games involving Costa Rica tend to be low scoring affairs.
Squad:
GOALKEEPERS: Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Patrick Pemberton (Liga Deportiva Alajuelense), Leonel Moreira (Herediano).
DEFENDERS: Cristian Gamboa (Celtic), Ian Smith (Norrkoping), Ronald Matarrita (New York City), Bryan Oviedo (Sunderland), Oscar Duarte (Espanyol), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Bologna), Francisco Calvo (Minnesota United), Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johnny Acosta (Aguilas Dorados).
MIDFIELDERS: David Guzman (Portland Timbers), Yeltsin Tejeda (Lausanne-Sport), Celso Borges (Deportivo La Coruna), Randall Azofeifa (Herediano), Rodney Wallace (New York City), Bryan Ruiz (Sporting Lisbon), Daniel Colindres, Christian Bolanos (both Saprissa).
FORWARDS: Johan Venegas (Saprissa), Joel Campbell (Real Betis), Marco Urena (Los Angeles FC).
Key Player:
Keylor Navas: The Real Madrid goalkeeper is one of the finest shot-stoppers in the world and has been in impressive form during the second half of the season .He was arguably their star player in 2014 when his heroics against against Italy, England and in the penalty shootout against Greece inspired his team to the quarterfinals. He will be required to be at his very best once again if Costa Rica are to repeat their 2014 exploits in Russia.
Current Rankings:
FIFA:
Current - 25
Highest - 13
ELO:
Current - 31
Highest - 13
