The Costa Rica national football team is arguably the most successful team in Central America. They have qualified for four world cups and often featured in final qualifying phases. The team has a long history in international football having played their first match in 1921.

In the most recent world cup the side surprised everyone by emerging from a group containing the previous tournament winners England, Italy, and Uruguay. The side eventually went out in the quarter final after a narrow loss to the Netherlands on penalties.

The side’s first world cup came in 1990. It was a great start for the side as despite losing to Brazil in their group they managed to qualify for the next round.

World cup history

1990

1990

Italy

In 1990 the Costa Rica national football team qualified for their first world cup finals and put in a strong performance making it past the group stage. In their group were Brazil, Sweden and Scotland. After defeating Scotland 1-0 in their opening fixture they lost to Brazil by the same scoreline. In their final group fixture the Costa Rica national football team manged to squeeze past Sweden 2-1 to finish second and progress. Although the side were comfortably defeated in the next round it was a fantastic start to the world cup for the team.

2002

Japan and South Korea

After failing to qualify for the next two tournaments the Costa Rica national football team qualified again in 2002. Although the team did not make it beyond the group stage they still performed well. They were the only team in the tournament to score two goals against eventual champions Brazil, and managed a draw against third placed Turkey.

2006

Germany

Their third appearance in 2006 was their worst showing. They opened the tournament against hosts Germany. Despite scoring twice against them they went on to lose all three games in the group. They conceded nine goals along the way with the sides heaviest defeat a 3-0 loss to Ecuador.

2014

Brazil

The world cup in Brazil was won by Germany, who became the first European side to win the tournament in South America. The Costa Rica national football team were the surprise package of the tournament. In a group alongside former world champions England, Italy and Uruguay, nothing was expected of them. A 3-1 win over Uruguay was followed up with a 1-0 victory over Italy. The side were already through before they played their final group game. A 0-0 with England sealed top spot. The team were not finished in the last-sixteen. A 5-4 penalty win over Greece sent them further than they had ever been before. The quarter-final was another battle, but this time Costa Rica just missed out. A 4-3 penalty loss to the Netherlands finally eliminated the side from the tournament.

2018

Russia

The Costa Rica national football team went straight into the fourth round of qualifying and are in a group alongside Panama, Haiti, and Jamaica.

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