Rio de Janeiro, Jun 21: When Group D earned the moniker of the Group of Death the 2014 World Cup, nobody gave a thought to little Costa Rica. They were assumed to be collateral damage as the three former champions in the group – Italy, England and Uruguay - did battle for the right to progress to the second round.
Except someone forget to tell Costa Rica they should just lie down and play dead. The Central American team that could made sure the group lived up to its moniker by beating Uruguay and Italy to go through to the knockouts for only the second time in its history. That means England is already out of the tournament and either Italy or Uruguay will soon follow.
Here are 10 things you need to know about the Costa Rican football team:
- Costa Rica were ranked 28th in the world coming into the tournament. Their three opponents in the group are all ranked in the top 10.
- They finished second in their qualifying group for the 2014 World Cup behind the United States.
- Costa Rica last made the second round in 1990, the year they qualified for the World Cup for the first time. This is the team’s fourth World Cup, which makes them the most successful team from Central America.
- Costa Rica is also the first Central American team to win a game at the World Cup, beating Scotland 1-0 in 1990. They finished second in their group behind Brazil that year before losing to Czechoslovakia in the round of 16.
- Costa Rica is the third most successful team in the CONCACAF region, after Mexico and the United States. They have won the CONCACAF tournament three times –1963, 1969 and 1989.
- According to the International Business Times, the total market value of the Costa Rican team is 32 million euros, ranking them 29th out of the 32 teams in the World Cup. In comparison, Italy’s market value is 350 euros, England’s is 362 million euros and Uruguay’s 236 million euros. Clearly, money doesn’t always buy better football.
- Joel Campbell, who is on contract at Arsenal, is the only Costa Rican player in any of Europe’s top five leagues. Bryan Ruiz, who scored the winner against Italy, used to play for Fulham but is now with PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie
- The foundation of Jorge Luis Pinto’s side is a stingy back line. Costa Rica have conceded just seven goals in their qualifying campaign. They have conceded just one in two games so far in this World Cup.
- Costa Rica finished 31st out of 32 teams in the 2006 World Cup, the last time they played in the tournament.
- This is Columbian coach Pinto’s second spell with Costa Rica. He coached them the first time in 2004-05, with much less success.
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