Costa Rica
The only Central American team to win a World Cup match and advance past the group stage.
via Wikipedia: Costa Rica at the FIFA World Cup · see source
Costa Rica's history at the FIFA World Cup is relatively recent, as they missed the tournament for sixty years from its inception in 1930 until their first appearance at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, the team's only participation at the tournament in the 20th century. The 21st century has seen Costa Rica qualifying to most editions of the FIFA World Cup, with the exception of 2010, which they narrowly missed, and 2026. Costa Rica ranks third in FIFA World Cup appearances within the CONCACAF region, and first within the UNCAF subregion, in which they hold as many participations as the rest of Central America combined. Costa Rica remains the only Central American team to win a match at a World Cup, which they have done six times, and the only team within that region to qualify past the group stage, which they have done twice.
Quick Facts
- First world cup appearance
- 1990
- Best finish
- Quarter-finals (2014)
Lore & Background
In 2014, Costa Rica had its best performance at a FIFA World Cup. On 6 December 2013, Costa Rica was drawn into Group D with Uruguay, Italy, and England, the only group in FIFA World Cup history to feature three former world champions who, at the time, stood within the top 10 of the FIFA Men's World Ranking. Expectations for Costa Rica were overwhelmingly low, and that the team would finish in the thirty-second place. Instead, Costa Rica topped the group undefeated, with two victories and one draw, and only one goal received.
After defeating Greece at the round of 16 through the penalty shoot-outs, and losing through the same means at the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, Costa Rica left the World Cup among the eight best teams, undefeated, and conceding only two goals, the least of all participants of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Sports-news outlets such as Goal and Mundo Deportivo rank Costa Rica's performance in 2014 as one of the biggest surprises in FIFA World Cup history.
Did You Know?
- Fifteen of the twenty-three players from the 2014 squad changed teams in the two transfer windows following the World Cup.
- Goalkeeper Keylor Navas signed for Real Madrid after the 2014 World Cup.
More in honours
Elsewhere in FIFA World Cup
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