Costa Rica national football team

Costa Rica

Nickname(s)	Los Ticos (The Ticos) La Sele (The Selection) La Tricolor (The Tricolor)
Association	Federación Costarricense de Fútbol (FCRF)[1]
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	UNCAF (Central America)
Head coach	Gustavo Alfaro
Captain	Keylor Navas/Celso Borges
Most caps	Celso Borges (163)
Top scorer	Rolando Fonseca (47)
Home stadium	Estadio Nacional
FIFA code	CRC
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	46 (26 October 2023)[2]
Highest	13 (February–March 2015)
Lowest	93 (July 1996)
First international
Costa Rica 7–0 El Salvador  (Guatemala City, Guatemala; 14 September 1921)
Biggest win
Costa Rica 12–0 Puerto Rico  (Barranquilla, Colombia; 10 December 1946)
Biggest defeat
Mexico 7–0 Costa Rica  (Mexico City, Mexico; 17 August 1975)  Spain 7–0 Costa Rica  (Doha, Qatar; 23 November 2022)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (first in 1990)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2014)
CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup
Appearances	22 (first in 1963)
Best result	Champions (1963, 1969, 1989)
Nations League Finals
Appearances	1 (first in 2021)
Best result	Fourth place (2021)
Copa América
Appearances	5 (first in 1997)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2001, 2004)
Medal record CONCACAF Gold Cup 1963 El Salvador Team 1969 Costa Rica Team 1989 North America Team 2002 United States Team 1965 Guatemala Team 1971 Trinidad and Tobago Team 1985 North America Team 1993 North America Team Copa Centroamericana 1991 Costa Rica Team 1997 Guatemala Team 1999 Cost Rica Team 2003 Panama Team 2005 Guatemala Team 2007 El Salvador Team 2013 Costa Rica Team 2014 United States Team 1993 Honduras Team 2001 Honduras Team 2009 Honduras Team 2011 Panama Team

The Costa Rica national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Costa Rica) represents Costa Rica in men's international football. The national team is administered by the Costa Rican Football Federation (FEDEFUTBOL), the governing body for football in Costa Rica. It has been a member of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 1927, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) since 1961, and a member of the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) since 1990.

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.

Since the late 1980s, the team has continuously been visible as a solidly competitive side, with a prominent performance in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, making it to the knockout stage in their debut after finishing second in their group during the first phase, below Brazil. They also qualified for the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.

In 2014, Costa Rica achieved their best performance in history by finishing first in their group that consisted of three former World Cup champions: Uruguay, Italy, and England. During the round 16 they defeated Greece 5–3 via a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw. Moreover, during their match against the Greek team, Keylor Navas saved more than 15 shots. They reached the quarter-finals for the first time but were defeated by the Netherlands, also in a penalty shoot-out (3–4) after a scoreless draw on 5 July.^[4][5] Both their 2018 and 2022 World Cup campaigns ended in a fourth place group stage exit, with their only points coming from a 2–2 draw against Switzerland in 2018 and a 1–0 win over Japan in 2022.

History

Early history

The national team made its debut in the Independence Centenary Games held in Guatemala City in September 1921, winning their first game 7–0 against El Salvador. 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. However, Costa Rica was not able to utilize this advantage, hence failed to reach any World Cup at that decade.

At the end of the 1960s their fortunes declined as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago and Canada rose in prominence.

1980s

Costa Rica failed to qualify for any of the World Cups in the 1970s and 1980s, and did not reach the final round of the CONCACAF qualifying until the 1986 qualifiers.

They participated in two consecutive Summer Olympic Games, in Moscow 1980 and in Los Angeles 1984. In 1980, Costa Rica competed against Yugoslavia, Finland and Iraq in Group D, losing 3–2, 3–0 and 3–0 respectively. 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

Costa Rica won the 1989 CONCACAF Championship to qualify for the finals of a World Cup for the first time. In the first round of the qualifiers, they beat Panama 3–1 on aggregate after a 2–0 away victory in the second leg, with goals by Juan Arnoldo Cayasso and Hernán Medford. They were drawn against Mexico in the second round, but advanced automatically when their opponents were disqualified for youth player age tampering.

Costa Rica started the final qualifying group stage with a home victory and an away defeat against both Guatemala and the United States. They drew 1–1 with Trinidad and Tobago and then beat the same opponents 1–0 at home with a goal by Cayasso. They achieved an important away win, 4–2 against El Salvador at the Estadio Cuscatlán, with goals from Carlos Mario Hidalgo, Cayasso and a double from Leonidas Flores, before beating El Salvador 1–0 in San José with a goal from Pastor Fernández. They finished first in the group table, ahead of the United States on goal difference.

Italy 1990, or Italia 90, is considered a seminal moment in Costa Rican football history. In particular, the players are notable for being primarily non-professionals, in that most players had other jobs and did not make a living playing football. Due to the success of the team during the World Cup, a number of the squad members went on to success in Costa Rican football (and international, in the case of Conejo).

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Costa Rica	8	5	1	2	10	6	+4	11
United States	8	4	3	1	6	3	+3	11
Trinidad and Tobago	8	3	3	2	7	5	+2	9
Guatemala	6	1	1	4	4	7	−3	3
El Salvador	6	0	2	4	2	8	−6	2

Placed in Group C at the World Cup finals, Costa Rica began by beating Scotland 1–0 thanks to another goal by Cayasso. Although they lost to Brazil by the same score, they came from behind to beat Sweden 2–1 in their final group match to reach the knockout stages. There, they lost 4–1 to Czechoslovakia, for whom Tomáš Skuhravý scored a hat-trick.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil	3	3	0	0	4	1	+3	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Costa Rica	3	2	0	1	3	2	+1	4
3	Scotland	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	2
4	Sweden	3	0	0	3	3	6	−3	0

2002 World Cup

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. A draw against the United States and a 2–1 defeat to Guatemala forced Costa Rica into a play-off against Guatemala in Miami. Costa Rica won 5–2 with two goals from Fonseca and one each from Wanchope, Reynaldo Parks and Jafeth Soto.

Costa Rica displayed fine attacking form during the final qualifying round, beginning with a 2–2 draw against Honduras at the Ricardo Saprissa, with goals from Fonseca and Rodrigo Cordero, and a 3–0 defeat of Trinidad and Tobago at the Morera Soto. Their only loss in this round came when the United States beat them 1–0. Costa Rica bounced back with a 2–1 win against Mexico in Mexico City, a match known as the Aztecazo,^[8] with goals from Fonseca and Medford. Further wins over Jamaica, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago took Costa Rica to the brink of qualification, which they sealed with an emotional 2–0 win against the United States in the Saprissa, with a double from Fonseca.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Costa Rica	10	7	2	1	17	7	+10	23	Qualified to the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2	Mexico	10	5	2	3	16	9	+7	17
3	United States	10	5	2	3	11	8	+3	17
4	Honduras	10	4	2	4	17	17	0	14
5	Jamaica	10	2	2	6	7	14	−7	8
6	Trinidad and Tobago	10	1	2	7	5	18	−13	5

In the finals, Costa Rica were drawn into Group C with Brazil, China, and Turkey. Their campaign started in Gwangju, where the Ticos beat China 2–0. In their second game against Turkey in Incheon, Winston Parks scored an 86th-minute goal to earn a 1–1 draw. 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.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil	3	3	0	0	11	3	+8	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Turkey	3	1	1	1	5	3	+2	4
3	Costa Rica	3	1	1	1	5	6	−1	4
4	China	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9	0

2006 World Cup

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. Costa Rica recovered with two wins over Canada and a resounding 5–0 triumph over Guatemala, when Wanchope scored a hat-trick and Carlos Hernández and Fonseca added further goals. Costa Rica advanced to the hexagonal round by winning the group.

In the final round they started with a 2–1 defeat against Mexico at the Saprissa, before beating Panama by the same score, with goals from Wayne Wilson and Roy Myrie. Pinto was dismissed after a goalless draw with Trinidad and Tobago, and Guimarães returned as coach. His first match ended in a 3–0 defeat to the United States, but wins followed against Guatemala, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago. Costa Rica decisively beat the United States in the Saprissa, 3–0, with a goal from Wanchope and two from Hernández, to guarantee their third World Cup qualification.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	United States	10	7	1	2	16	6	+10	22[a]		—	2–0	3–0	1–0	2–0	2–0
2	Mexico	10	7	1	2	22	9	+13	22[a]		2–1	—	2–0	2–0	5–2	5–0
3	Costa Rica	10	5	1	4	15	14	+1	16		3–0	1–2	—	2–0	3–2	2–1
4	Trinidad and Tobago	10	4	1	5	10	15	−5	13		1–2	2–1	0–0	—	3–2	2–0
5	Guatemala	10	3	2	5	16	18	−2	11		0–0	0–2	3–1	5–1	—	2–1
6	Panama	10	0	2	8	4	21	−17	2		0–3	1–1	1–3	0–1	0–0	—

On 9 June 2006, Costa Rica made their debut in Munich in the opening match of the World Cup against the hosts, Germany. Wanchope scored to equalise an early goal from Philipp Lahm, and later added another, but Costa Rica lost 4–2. However, they failed to match this encouraging performance in their remaining two games, losing 3–0 against Ecuador and 2–1 against Poland in a dead rubber.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany (H)	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Ecuador	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2	6
3	Poland	3	1	0	2	2	4	−2	3
4	Costa Rica	3	0	0	3	3	9	−6	0

2010 World Cup

Costa Rica began the qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup against Grenada, winning 5–2 on aggregate (2–2, 3–0). They won all six games played in the next phase, against El Salvador (1–0, 3–1), Haiti (3–1, 2–0) and Suriname (7–0, 4–1).

With two games left in the Hexagonal round, Costa Rica trailed Honduras by one point in trying to win the third automatic qualification place behind the United States and Mexico. When Honduras lost 3–2 at home to the United States, Costa Rica overtook them with a 4–0 win against Trinidad and Tobago. Needing to win the final match in Washington, D.C. against the United States to ensure qualification, the Ticos led 2–0 at half-time, but Jonathan Bornstein scored an injury-time equaliser to draw the match 2–2. Meanwhile, Honduras's 1–0 victory over El Salvador moved them into third place in the group table on goal difference.

Costa Rica finished fourth, pushing them into a play-off with the fifth-placed team from the CONMEBOL region, Uruguay. The Ticos lost the first leg in San José 1–0, after a goal by Diego Lugano, and finished with ten men after Randall Azofeifa was sent off. In the second leg, played at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Sebastián Abreu put Uruguay ahead twenty minutes from time, and although Walter Centeno equalised, the 1–1 draw sent Uruguay to the World Cup finals, 2–1 on aggregate.

After failing to qualify, the team began a new era, with the young talent of players such as Azofeifa, Keylor Navas, Cristian Bolaños, Michael Barrantes and Joel Campbell. 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

The Ticos' 2014 World Cup campaign began with a 2–2 draw against El Salvador in the third round of the qualifiers. They followed this with a 4–0 win over Guyana with a hat-trick by Álvaro Saborío. Two defeats to Mexico put the Ticos one defeat away from elimination, but they resurrected their campaign with a 1–0 win against El Salvador, with the only goal scored by José Miguel Cubero. They clinched a final round berth with a 7–0 win over Guyana, with goals scored by Randall Brenes, Saborío, Cristian Bolaños, Celso Borges and Cristian Gamboa.

The fourth round began with a 2–2 draw against Panama. In March, Costa Rica lost 1–0 against the United States in Denver, and launched an unsuccessful appeal against the match because of inclement weather.^[9] Costa Rica again fell 1–0 to the United States in the Gold Cup that June.^[10] Costa Rica then won 2–0 against Jamaica, beat Honduras 1–0 against, drew 0–0 at the Azteca against Mexico and won at home 2–0 against Panama. In September, they won 3–1 against the United States in San José.

On 10 September 2013, Costa Rica drew 1–1 with Jamaica, thanks to a goal from Brenes, to qualify with two games to spare. After a 1–0 loss at Honduras and 2–1 win over Mexico in October, Costa Rica finished second in the table, behind the United States.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	10	7	1	2	15	8	+7	22	Qualification to 2014 FIFA World Cup		—	1–0	1–0	2–0	2–0	2–0
2	Costa Rica	10	5	3	2	13	7	+6	18			3–1	—	1–0	2–1	2–0	2–0
3	Honduras	10	4	3	3	13	12	+1	15			2–1	1–0	—	2–2	2–2	2–0
4	Mexico	10	2	5	3	7	9	−2	11	Advance to inter-confederation play-offs		0–0	0–0	1–2	—	2–1	0–0
5	Panama	10	1	5	4	10	14	−4	8			2–3	2–2	2–0	0–0	—	0–0
6	Jamaica	10	0	5	5	5	13	−8	5			1–2	1–1	2–2	0–1	1–1	—

Costa Rica were drawn in finals Group D against three previous tournament winners – Italy, England and Uruguay – and were given odds of 2500–1 to win the tournament.^{[citation needed]} However, they beat Uruguay and Italy and drew 0–0 with England to finish top of the group and qualify for the knockout stage.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Costa Rica	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Uruguay	3	2	0	1	4	4	0	6
3	Italy	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3
4	England	3	0	1	2	2	4	−2	1

In the second round, they beat Greece 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, seeing them through to the quarter-finals for the first time. There, they held the Netherlands to a 0–0 draw after extra time, before losing 4–3 on penalties. 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

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.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mexico	10	6	3	1	16	7	+9	21	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	2–0	1–0	3–0	1–1	3–1
2	Costa Rica	10	4	4	2	14	8	+6	16			1–1	—	0–0	1–1	4–0	2–1
3	Panama	10	3	4	3	9	10	−1	13			0–0	2–1	—	2–2	1–1	3–0
4	Honduras	10	3	4	3	13	19	−6	13	Advance to inter-confederation play-offs		3–2	1–1	0–1	—	1–1	3–1
5	United States	10	3	3	4	17	13	+4	12			1–2	0–2	4–0	6–0	—	2–0
6	Trinidad and Tobago	10	2	0	8	7	19	−12	6			0–1	0–2	1–0	1–2	2–1	—

Costa Rica were drawn in Group E alongside Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia. 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.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Switzerland	3	1	2	0	5	4	+1	5
3	Serbia	3	1	0	2	2	4	−2	3
4	Costa Rica	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1

2022 World Cup

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	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Canada	14	8	4	2	23	7	+16	28	2022 FIFA World Cup
2	Mexico	14	8	4	2	17	8	+9	28
3	United States	14	7	4	3	21	10	+11	25
4	Costa Rica	14	7	4	3	13	8	+5	25	inter-confederation play-offs
5	Panama	14	6	3	5	17	19	−2	21
6	Jamaica	14	2	5	7	12	22	−10	11
7	El Salvador	14	2	4	8	8	18	−10	10
8	Honduras	14	0	4	10	7	26	−19	4

On November 23, 2022, Costa Rica lost 7–0 against Spain becoming the biggest loss in World Cup history since 2010.^[12] This match also tied for their worst defeat in professional football with a match against Mexico, which ended with the result Mexico 7–0 Costa Rica (Mexico City, Mexico; 17 August 1975). Despite an improvement from beating Japan and initially make a little justice of scoring 2 goals from losing a goal of Germany in the first half, the latter scored 3 goals and thrashed Costa Rica’s qualification to Round of 16 hope.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Japan	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Spain	3	1	1	1	9	3	+6	4
3	Germany	3	1	1	1	6	5	+1	4
4	Costa Rica	3	1	0	2	3	11	−8	3

Home stadium

Estadio Nacional is the home stadium of the Costa Rica national team since its opening on 10 January 2011, after a short construction that took only 22 months. This venue hosts their friendly matches as well as the World Cup qualifying matches against CONCACAF rivals. Before the construction of the stadium the matches where played in Estadio Ricardo Saprissa or in Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto.

Team image

Costa Rica wears traditionally a red jersey with blue shorts and white socks. Their away kit historically was a Juventus-style black and white striped jersey with white shorts and white or black socks, due to these colors being the ones of CS La Libertad, one of the oldest clubs in Costa Rica. However, after 1997, the striped kit was replaced by a white kit. In 2015, Boston based sportswear company New Balance became the provider of the national team, after taking over for Italian company Lotto. Since 2023, Adidas is the kit provider for the national team.

Kit sponsorship

Supplier	Period
Desport	1980–1989
Lotto	1990–1994
Reebok	1995–1999
Trooper	1999
Atletica	2000–2001
Joma	2001–2007
Lotto	2007–2014
New Balance	2015–2022
Adidas	2023–present

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2022

2023

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Manager	Claudio Vivas (interim)
Assistant Coach 1	Cristian Vella
Goalkeeper's Coach	Ricardo Gonzalez
Fitness Coach	Bryan Mora
Video Analyst	Keylor Reyes
Video Analyst	Gabriel Villalobos
Doctor	Alejandro Ramírez
Physiotherapist	Martha Sisfontes
Physiotherapist	Brayner Sánchez
Nutritionist	Alhelí Mateos
Massage Therapist	Óscar Segura
Props	Randall Obando
Props	Alberto Mena
Team Administrator	Alvaro Herrera
Sporting Director	Claudio Vivas

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.^[13]

Caps and goals as of 20 June 2023, after the match against Ecuador.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
18	1GK	Kevin Chamorro	(2000-04-08) 8 April 2000 (age 23)	4	0	Saprissa
23	1GK	Alexandre Lezcano	(2001-08-26) 26 August 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Santos de Guápiles
1	1GK	Jussef Delgado	(1994-01-27)27 January 1994 (aged 29)	0	0	Pérez Zeledón
15	2DF	Francisco Calvo	(1992-07-08) 8 July 1992 (age 31)	81	9	Konyaspor
19	2DF	Kendall Waston	(1988-01-01) 1 January 1988 (age 35)	70	10	Saprissa
4	2DF	Keysher Fuller	(1994-07-12) 12 July 1994 (age 29)	37	3	Herediano
3	2DF	Juan Pablo Vargas	(1995-06-06) 6 June 1995 (age 28)	15	3	Millonarios
2	2DF	Carlos Martínez	(1999-03-30) 30 March 1999 (age 24)	11	0	Alajuelense
13	2DF	Suhander Zúñiga	(1997-01-15) 15 January 1997 (age 26)	6	0	Alajuelense
22	2DF	Jefry Valverde	(1995-06-10) 10 June 1995 (age 28)	3	0	Saprissa
6	2DF	Pablo Arboine	(1998-04-03)3 April 1998 (aged 25)	1	0	Saprissa
5	3MF	Celso Borges	(1988-05-27) 27 May 1988 (age 35)	163	27	Alajuelense
11	3MF	Aarón Suárez	(2002-06-27) 27 June 2002 (age 21)	7	1	Alajuelense
21	3MF	Roan Wilson	(2002-05-01) 1 May 2002 (age 21)	7	0	Gil Vicente
20	3MF	Wilmer Azofeifa	(1994-06-04) 4 June 1994 (age 29)	5	0	San Carlos
17	3MF	Carlos Mora	(2001-03-18) 18 March 2001 (age 22)	5	0	Alajuelense
10	3MF	Cristopher Núñez	(1997-12-08) 8 December 1997 (age 25)	5	0	Lamia
16	3MF	Warren Madrigal	(2004-07-24) 24 July 2004 (age 19)	2	0	Saprissa
14	3MF	Ricardo Peña	(2004-07-15)15 July 2004 (aged 18)	0	0	Spartak Trnava
12	4FW	Joel Campbell	(1992-06-26) 26 June 1992 (age 31)	131	27	Alajuelense
7	4FW	Anthony Contreras	(2000-01-29) 29 January 2000 (age 23)	16	3	Riga
9	4FW	Diego Campos	(1995-10-01) 1 October 1995 (age 28)	2	1	Degerfors IF
8	4FW	Josimar Alcócer	(2004-07-07) 7 July 2004 (age 19)	3	0	Alajuelense

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Keylor Navas (captain)	(1986-12-15) 15 December 1986 (age 36)	110	0	Nottingham Forest	v.  Ecuador, 20 June 2023
GK	Patrick Sequeira	(1999-03-01) 1 March 1999 (age 24)	2	0	Lugo	v.  Panama, 28 March 2023
GK	Esteban Alvarado	(1989-04-28) 28 April 1989 (age 34)	25	0	Saprissa	2022 FIFA World Cup
DF	Óscar Duarte	(1989-06-03) 3 June 1989 (age 34)	75	4	Al-Wehda	v.  Ecuador, 20 June 2023
DF	Daniel Chacón	(2001-04-11) 11 April 2001 (age 22)	9	0	Alajuelense	v.  Panama, 28 March 2023
DF	Ian Lawrence	(2002-05-28) 28 May 2002 (age 21)	3	0	Alajuelense	v.  Panama, 28 March 2023
DF	Gerald Taylor	(2001-05-28) 28 May 2001 (age 22)	1	0	Saprissa	v.  Martinique, 25 March 2023
DF	Bryan Oviedo	(1990-02-18) 18 February 1990 (age 33)	79	2	Real Salt Lake	2022 FIFA World Cup
DF	Rónald Matarrita	(1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 29)	54	3	Aris	2022 FIFA World Cup
MF	Youstin Salas	(1996-06-17) 17 June 1996 (age 27)	6	0	Saprissa	v.  Ecuador, 20 June 2023
MF	Yeltsin Tejeda	(1992-03-17) 17 March 1992 (age 31)	78	1	Herediano	v.  Panama, 28 March 2023
MF	Alonso Martínez	(1998-10-15) 15 October 1998 (age 25)	14	0	Lommel	v.  Panama, 28 March 2023
MF	Brandon Aguilera	(2003-06-28) 28 June 2003 (age 20)	8	0	Nottingham Forest	v.  Panama, 28 March 2023
MF	Fabrizio Ramírez	(1997-04-01) 1 April 1997 (age 26)	2	0	Guadalupe	v.  Panama, 28 March 2023
MF	Jewison Bennette	(2004-06-15) 15 June 2004 (age 19)	11	2	Sunderland	v.  Martinique, 25 March 2023
MF	Gerson Torres	(1997-08-28) 28 August 1997 (age 26)	14	1	Herediano	2022 FIFA World Cup
MF	Douglas López	(1998-09-21) 21 September 1998 (age 25)	3	0	Herediano	2022 FIFA World Cup
MF	Anthony Hernández	(2001-10-11) 11 October 2001 (age 22)	3	1	Puntarenas	2022 FIFA World Cup
MF	Álvaro Zamora	(2002-03-09) 9 March 2002 (age 21)	4	0	Aris	2022 FIFA World Cup
MF	Bryan Ruiz	(1985-08-18) 18 August 1985 (age 38)	147	29	Retired	2022 FIFA World CupRET
MF	Orlando Galo	(2000-08-11) 11 August 2000 (age 23)	10	0	Herediano	v.  Uzbekistan, 27 September 2022
FW	José Pablo Córdoba	(1998-12-10) 10 December 1998 (age 24)	0	0	Guanacasteca	v.  Panama, 28 March 2023
FW	Johan Venegas	(1988-11-27) 27 November 1988 (age 34)	84	11	Alajuelense	2022 FIFA World Cup
INJ Withdrew due to injury. RET Retired from international football. ILL Withdrew due to illness. PRE Preliminary squad. WD Withdrew for personal reasons.

Records

As of 1 December 2022^[14]

Players in bold are still active with Costa Rica.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Celso Borges	163	27	2008–present
2	Bryan Ruiz	147	29	2005–2022
3	Walter Centeno	137	24	1995–2009
4	Joel Campbell	131	27	2011–present
5	Luis Marín	128	5	1993–2009
6	Rolando Fonseca	113	47	1992–2011
7	Álvaro Saborío	111	36	2002–2019
8	Mauricio Solís	110	6	1993–2006
	Keylor Navas	110	0	2008–present
10	Michael Umaña	103	1	2004–2017

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Rolando Fonseca	47	113	0.42	1992–2011
2	Paulo Wanchope	45	73	0.62	1996–2008
3	Álvaro Saborío	36	111	0.32	2002–2019
4	Bryan Ruiz	29	147	0.2	2005–2022
5	Juan Ulloa	27	27	1	1955–1970
	Celso Borges	27	163	0.17	2008–present
	Joel Campbell	27	131	0.21	2011–present
8	Rónald Gómez	24	91	0.26	1993–2008
	Walter Centeno	24	137	0.18	1995–2009
10	Jorge Monge	23	27	0.85	1955–1961

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1954	Did not enter										Did not enter
1958	Did not qualify										6	4	1	1	16	7
1962											9	5	1	3	22	14
1966											8	5	2	1	17	3
1970											4	2	1	1	7	3
1974											2	0	1	1	4	5
1978											6	1	4	1	8	6
1982											8	1	4	3	6	10
1986											8	2	5	1	10	8
1990	Round of 16	13th	4	2	0	2	4	6	Squad		10	6	2	2	13	7
1994	Did not qualify										8	4	0	4	16	11
1998											16	7	3	6	22	17
2002	Group stage	19th	3	1	1	1	5	6	Squad		17	11	3	3	31	10
2006		31st	3	0	0	3	3	9	Squad		18	8	4	6	30	25
2010	Did not qualify										20	12	3	5	41	22
2014	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	3	0	5	2	Squad		16	8	4	4	27	12
2018	Group stage	29th	3	0	1	2	2	5	Squad		16	9	5	2	25	11
2022		27th	3	1	0	2	3	11	Squad		15	8	4	3	14	8
2026	To be determined										To be determined
Total	Quarter-finals	6/22	21	6	5	10	22	39	—		187	93	47	47	309	184

FIFA World Cup history
First match	Costa Rica 1–0 Scotland  (11 June 1990; Genoa, Italy)
Biggest win	Uruguay 1–3 Costa Rica  (14 June 2014; Fortaleza, Brazil)
Biggest defeat	Spain 7–0 Costa Rica  (23 November 2022; Doha, Qatar)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2014)
Worst result	Group stage (2002, 2006, 2018, 2022)

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1963	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	14	2	Squad		Qualified automatically
1965	Third place	3rd	5	2	2	1	11	4	Squad		Automatically entered
1967	Did not enter										Did not enter
1969	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	13	2	Squad		Qualified as hosts
1971	Third place	3rd	5	2	1	2	6	5	Squad		Qualified as defending champions
1973	Did not qualify										2	0	1	1	4	5
1977											6	1	4	1	8	6
1981											8	1	4	3	6	10
1985	Third place	3rd	8	2	5	1	10	8	Squad		5	1	0	4	5	9
1989	Champions	1st	8	5	1	2	10	6	Squad		Qualified automatically
1991	Fourth place	4th	5	1	0	4	5	9	Squad		Qualified as defending champions
1993	Third place	3rd	5	1	3	1	6	5	Squad		5	4	0	1	11	2
1996	Did not qualify										4	1	1	2	5	6
1998	Group stage	5th	2	1	0	1	8	4	Squad		5	3	2	0	12	3
2000	Quarter-finals	6th	3	0	2	1	5	6	Squad		5	3	0	2	13	3
2002	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	8	5	Squad		5	2	2	1	8	5
2003	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	10	8	Squad		5	4	1	0	5	1
2005	Quarter-finals	6th	4	2	1	1	6	4	Squad		4	3	1	0	8	2
2007		7th	4	1	1	2	3	4	Squad		4	2	1	1	6	3
2009	Semi-finals	4th	5	2	2	1	10	6	Squad		4	3	1	0	9	1
2011	Quarter-finals	5th	4	1	2	1	8	6	Squad		4	1	2	1	5	4
2013		5th	4	2	0	2	4	2	Squad		5	4	1	0	6	1
2015		7th	4	0	3	1	3	4	Squad		3	2	1	0	7	3
2017	Semi-finals	4th	5	3	1	1	6	3	Squad		5	1	3	1	4	2
2019	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	8	4	Squad		Qualified automatically
2021		5th	4	3	0	1	6	4	Squad		4	1	3	0	4	3
2023		7th	4	1	1	2	7	8	Squad		4	2	0	2	4	4
Total	3 Titles	22/27	104	45	29	30	167	109	—		82	38	28	16	125	64

CONCACAF Nations League

CONCACAF Nations League record
League phase													Finals
Season	LG	GP	Pos	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK		Year	Pos	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
2019−20	A	D	1st	4	1	3	0	4	3		4th		2021	4th	2	0	2	0	2	2	Squad
2022–23	A	B	2nd	4	2	0	4	4	4		6th		2023	Did not qualify
Total				8	3	3	2	8	7	—	Total		2	0	2	0	2	2	—

CONCACAF Nations League history
First Match	Haiti 1–1 Costa Rica  (10 October 2019; Nassau, Bahamas)
Biggest Win	Costa Rica 2–0 Martinique  (5 June 2022; San José, Costa Rica)
Biggest Defeat	Panama 2–0 Costa Rica  (2 June 2022; Panama City, Panama)
Best Result	Fourth place (2019–20)
Worst Result	Sixth place (2022–23)

Copa América

Copa América record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
1993*	Not invited
1995
1997	Group stage	10th	3	0	1	2	2	10	Squad
1999	Not invited
2001	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	7	3	Squad
2004		7th	4	1	0	3	3	8	Squad
2007	Not invited
2011	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	2	4	Squad
2015	Not invited
2016	Group stage	10th	3	1	1	1	3	6	Squad
2019	Not invited
2021
2024	To be determined
Total	Quarter-finals	5/12	17	5	3	9	17	31	—

*Ecuador 1993 was the first time nations from outside CONMEBOL were invited.

Copa Centroamericana

Copa Centroamericana record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1991	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	10	1
1993	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	3	2
1995	Fourth place	4th	4	1	1	2	5	6
1997	Champions	1st	5	3	2	0	12	3
1999	Champions	1st	5	3	0	2	13	3
2001	Runners-up	2nd	5	2	2	1	8	5
2003	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	5	1
2005	Champions	1st	4	3	1	0	8	2
2007	Champions	1st	4	2	1	1	5	2
2009	Runners-up	2nd	4	3	1	0	9	1
2011	Runners-up	2nd	4	1	2	1	6	5
2013	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	6	1
2014	Champions	1st	3	2	1	0	7	3
2017	Fourth place	4th	5	1	3	1	4	2
Total	8 Titles	13/13	59	34	16	9	103	37

CCCF Championship

CCCF Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1941	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	23	5
1943	Third place	3rd	6	3	0	3	20	15
1946	Champions	1st	5	4	0	1	24	6
1948	Champions	1st	8	5	1	2	25	11
1951	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	13	5
1953	Champions	1st	6	6	0	0	19	2
1955	Champions	1st	6	6	0	0	19	4
1957	Withdrew
1960	Champions	1st	5	3	2	0	14	4
1961	Champions	1st	7	7	0	0	32	4
Total	7 Titles	9/10	51	40	4	7	191	56

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
1900	Did not enter
1904
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928
1936
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968	Did not qualify
1972
1976
1980	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	2	9	Squad
1984	Group stage	13th	3	1	0	2	2	7	Squad
1988	Did not qualify
Since 1992	See Costa Rica national under-23 football team
Total	Group stage	2/19	6	1	0	5	4	16	—

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1951	Silver medal	2nd	4	2	1	1	9	12
1955	Did not participate
1959	Round-robin	5th	6	2	1	3	10	16
1963	Did not participate
1967
1971
1975	Fourth place	4th	6	2	1	3	7	13
1979	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	8	7
1983	Did not participate
1987
1991
1995	Quarter-finals	6th	4	2	0	2	12	6
Since 1999	See Costa Rica national under-23 football team
Total	1 Silver medal	5/12	25	10	3	12	46	54

Panamerican Championship

Panamerican Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1952	Did not participate
1956	Third place	3rd	5	2	1	2	11	15
1960	Fourth place	4th	6	1	2	3	4	10
Total	Third place	2/3	11	3	3	5	15	25

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Costa Rica's all-time international record, correct as of 2 February 2022.

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Argentina	6	0	2	4	5	12	–7
Aruba	2	1	1	0	4	3	1
Australia	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1
Austria	2	0	1	1	2	4	–2
Barbados	2	1	0	1	4	2	2
Belgium	2	0	0	2	1	5	–4
Belize	6	6	0	0	18	1	17
Bermuda	1	1	0	0	2	1	1
Bolivia	3	2	1	0	7	1	6
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Brazil	11	1	0	10	9	34	–25
Cameroon	1	1	0	0	5	0	5
Canada	23	8	9	6	21	18	3
Chile	11	6	2	3	13	10	3
China	5	2	2	1	8	6	2
Colombia	15	4	1	10	17	30	–13
Cuba	18	15	3	0	57	11	46
Curaçao	2	1	1	0	3	2	1
Czech Republic[a]	2	0	0	2	1	5	–5
Dominican Republic	2	2	0	0	8	1	7
Ecuador	11	1	5	5	9	19	–10
El Salvador	66	38	14	14	147	57	90
England	2	0	1	1	0	2	–2
Finland	1	1	0	0	2	1	1
France	2	0	0	2	3	5	–2
French Guiana	1	1	0	0	3	0	3
Germany	2	0	0	2	4	8	–4
Greece	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Grenada	2	1	1	0	5	2	3
Guadeloupe	3	3	0	0	9	2	7
Guatemala	63	32	15	16	132	71	61
Guyana	2	2	0	0	11	0	11
Haiti	16	8	6	2	31	13	18
Honduras	68	25	24	19	111	83	28
Hungary	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1
Iran	2	0	1	1	2	3	–1
Italy	2	1	0	1	1	1	0
Jamaica	31	15	11	4	56	19	37
Japan	6	1	1	4	4	13	–9
Martinique	2	2	0	0	5	1	4
Mexico	57	6	20	31	34	86	–52
Netherlands	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
New Zealand	2	2	0	0	5	0	5
Nicaragua	19	17	1	1	72	10	62
Northern Ireland	1	1	0	0	3	0	3
Norway	2	0	1	1	0	1	–1
Oman	1	1	0	0	4	3	1
Panama	47	29	14	14	117	50	67
Paraguay	9	3	3	3	5	6	–1
Peru	9	2	1	6	10	18	–8
Poland	3	0	0	3	3	8	–5
Puerto Rico	1	1	0	0	13	0	13
Qatar	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Republic of Ireland	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Russia[b]	2	1	0	1	5	5	0
Saudi Arabia	4	3	0	1	9	5	4
Scotland	2	2	0	0	2	0	2
Serbia	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1
Slovakia	3	1	1	1	6	5	1
South Africa	2	0	0	2	1	3	–2
South Korea	10	3	2	5	10	12	–2
Spain	3	0	1	2	3	9	–6
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3	3	0	0	13	1	12
Suriname	6	6	0	0	19	4	15
Sweden	2	1	0	1	2	2	0
Switzerland	3	1	1	1	3	4	–1
Trinidad and Tobago	26	19	4	3	59	15	44
Tunisia	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1
Turkey	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Ukraine	1	0	0	1	0	4	–4
Uruguay	14	3	3	8	19	26	–7
United States	40	16	5	19	47	49	–2
Venezuela	16	7	5	4	28	24	4
Wales	2	1	0	1	1	1	0

Honours

Major competitions

• CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup
  • Champions (3): 1963, 1969, 1989
  • Runners-up (1): 2002
  • Third place (4): 1965, 1971, 1985, 1993
• Panamerican Championship
  • Third place (1): 1956

Other competitions

• Central American and Caribbean Games
  • Runners-up (3): 1930, 1935, 1938
• CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament
  • Champions (2): 1980, 1984
• Copa Centroamericana
  • Champions (8): 1991, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2014
  • Runners-up (4): 1993, 2001, 2009, 2011
• CCCF Championship
  • Champions (7): 1941, 1946, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1961
  • Runners-up (1): 1951
  • Third place (1): 1943
• Independence Centenary Games
  • Champions (1): 1921

Facts

• Costa Rica was the first (and so far the only) Central American football team to win a game at a FIFA World Cup tournament.
• Costa Rica finished in first place in the 1990 and 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification final rounds, the latter of which was the best group record in the history of the CONCACAF hexagonal (23 points).
• Costa Rica (in 2014) is one of two Central American or Caribbean teams (along with Cuba in 1938) to ever to advance to the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA World Ranking

Last update was on 27 May 2021 Source:^[15]

  Best Ranking    Worst Ranking    Best Mover    Worst Mover  

Costa Rica's FIFA World Ranking History
Rank	Year	Best		Worst
		Rank	Move	Rank	Move
50	2021	—	—	—	—
51	2020	46		51	4
46	2019	37	1	47	5
36	2018	23	2	37	9
26	2017	17	5	26	7
17	2016	17	8	37	4
37	2015	13	3	42	27
16	2014	15	12	35	3
31	2013	31	16	66	3
66	2012	57	8	72	6
65	2011	48	21	69	5
69	2010	40	3	69	13
44	2009	30	11	47	8
53	2008	53	12	79	4
70	2007	46	12	70	10
68	2006	21		68	19
21	2005	19	6	27	3
27	2004	17	5	33	5
17	2003	17	3	22	2
21	2002	21	5	30	2
30	2001	29	14	56	2
60	2000	54	8	69	5
64	1999	64	5	69	2
67	1998	46	7	67	15
51	1997	51	9	66	2
72	1996	72	12	93	6
78	1995	56	18	78	13
65	1994	39	3	65	9
42	1993	37	1	42	5

See also

• Costa Rica national under-23 football team
• Costa Rica national under-20 football team
• Costa Rica national under-17 football team
• Costa Rica at the FIFA World Cup

References

External links

• FEDEFUTBOL.com – Website of the Costa Rican Football Federation
• Costa Rica FIFA profile
• 1921 to 2009 Costa Rica match results by Marcos Romero at RSSSF

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