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Scouting
Report
Style of play: Coach Alexandre Guimaraes utilizes
an attacking 3-5-2 formation with all three of its defenders
pressing forward towards the goal. The central defender
leads the way by carrying the ball up the middle into
the opposing team's half to support Costa his forwards
- while the two outside defenders often move up along
the wings and join the attack. The two outside midfielders
cover for them by dropping back and adopting a defensive
posture. The three central midfielders play holding
positions and clutter the middle of the field and fight
opposing players for loose balls and possession. Costa
Rica is also very quick on the counterattack, using
its tremendous speed to run directly at defenders to
get into scoring position inside the penalty area.
Strengths:
Depth in midfield -- Costa Rica has a reserve
of quality midfielders at its disposal, each one boasting
a unique set of skills. Because of this depth, Costa
Rica can install a specific player to address changes
in game situations at a moment's notice.
Moving forward -- Costa Rica are very strong
moving forward in attack, led by its two forwards. The
central defender often plays like a traditional libero
(attacking sweeper), moving up the field and giving
Costa Rica another scoring option.
Ball control -- Costa Rica has several technically
skilled players who have sublime dribbling skills and
ball control. They move the ball around with great confidence
and usually enjoy the lion's share of possession during
a game.
Weaknesses:
Goalkeeping -- Erick Lonnis is an experienced
goalkeeper, but he can be very error-prone. Although
expert at stopping penalties, he's very weak on high
crosses and corner kicks that drop into the middle of
the box. He also has a tendency to leave his line far
too early.
Travel factor -- During qualifying, Costa Rica's
record was less than sparkling on the road, losing three
times, including an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Barbados.
Will they be able to adapt to the culture, climate and
environment in South Korea?
Defence -- Costa Rica doesn't have the same defensive
depth that it has in midfield. Aside from its three
starting defenders, Costa Rica simply has no quality
reinforcements at the ready should the situation call
for it.
Key injuries/squad omissions:
Captain Reynaldo Parks did not recover from an aggravated
knee injury. He has been replaced with Pablo Chinchilla….
Star striker Paulo Wanchope suffered a recurrence of
a knee injury in training and is struggling to gain
fitness for the beginning of the tournament…. Defender
Jervis Drummond is suffering with a foot injury, while
Hernán Medford is still recovering from a knee
operation. Both are expected to play.… Surprise
inclusions include central defender Juan Jose Rodriguez
(uncapped for Costa Rica at the age of 33), and 20-year-old
defensive midfielder Daniel Vallejos….
Outlook: First place is out of the question
(Brazil are far and away the class of Group C), thus
leaving Costa Rica to battle Turkey for second place.
In 1990, Costa Rica managed to survive a very difficult
group that included Brazil, Sweden and Scotland to finish
second and advance to the next round. Can they do it
again? Don't count on it. While beating China shouldn't
be a problem, Costa Rica is not in the same league as
Turkey, as they don't have the same depth of creative
and technically skilled players. A third-place finish
ahead of China looks like the best the Central American
nation can hope for.
The
Country
Location: Central America, bordering both the
Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua
and Panama
Capital: San Jose
Area: 51,100 sq km
Population:3,710,558 (July 2000 est.)
Government type: Democratic republic.
Climate: Tropical and subtropical: dry season
(December to April); rainy season (May to November);
cooler in highlands.
Ethnic groups: White (including mestizo) 94%,
black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%.
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Evangelical Protestant,
approximately 14%, other less than 1%.
Languages: Spanish (official), English spoken
around Puerto Limon.
History: Costa Rica is the jewel of Central
America. Since the late 19th century, only two short
periods of violence have interrupted its democratic
development. Although still an agricultural country,
it has attained a high standard of living. Tourism is
a swiftly expanding industry and economic source.
The
Community in Canada
If you take Mexico to be part of North America in light
of NAFTA, there is only one team from Central American
and Caribbean region in this year's World Cup: Costa
Rica. There are almost 200,000 Canadians of Central
American origin scattered in larger centres across the
country.
By and large, they arrived in waves starting in the
late 1970s and early 80s as war and political upheaval
swept through the region in places like Guatemala, El
Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
In most of these places, at one time or another, the
army turned against the people. Costa Rica doesn't have
an army. It was banned by constitution in 1949. Hence
the high standards of living and education and land
ownership.
Central Americans, like most other Latin Americans,
are soccer-obsessed. It is by far the number one sport
in the region. So while there will be lots of people
from those communities watching the games, they're not
really rooting for one team or another. Most of the
people we spoke with allowed that they might be glad
to see Costa Rica advance, but they didn't really care
one way or the other - as long as there was lots of
good soccer on TV.
In short, don't expect to see convoys of cars cruising
the streets of Antigonish, N.S. or Brandon, Man. - or
even multicultural Toronto, for that matter - with Costa
Rican flags hanging out the window.
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