Costa Rica team image. Photo Credits: FIFA via Twitter.
This summer Costa Rica are heading into their second Women’s World Cup. Their previous appearance was in 2015 at the Canada World Cup, where they made an early exit from a 1-0 defeat against Brazil. However, Head Coach Amelia Valverde is set on the team making it to the knockout round. She has named a squad full of young players full of ambition and talent.
The team confirmed their Women’s World Cup place after finishing in fourth place at the Concacaf Women’s Championship in Mexico. During their qualifiers for the regional championship, they scored twenty-two goals and kept a clean sheet against St Kitts and Nevis, US Virgin Islands, Curacao and Guatemala. Despite losing to the USA in the semifinals, they placed second in Group B, behind Canada and ahead of Panama.
Costa Rica’s group C
Costa Rica find themselves in Group C along with Spain, Japan and Zambia. In 2011, Japan went all the way and became Women’s World Cup champions. This is Zambia’s World Cup debut and are (like most other teams) are set on leaving an impression this summer. Spain, although they are widely recognized as a top team, are facing this summer with a vastly different squad compared to other World Cups, due to the resignation of 15 players. Spain also has the disadvantage of their star player, Alexia Putellas, only recently returning from an ACL injury. Costa Rica definitely have a challenge in this group, so now the question is, will their grit and determination be enough to get them advanced, for the first time ever, past the group stage?
The Final Squad
Head coach Amelia Valverde has called on 23 players full of ambition and determination. One of the biggest differences is the missing Shirley Cruz, who has played for her national team for more than twenty years. She announced via Instagram her retirement after a legendary 26 years.
Key Players
With her experience and quality, Raquel Rodriguez Cedeno is an irreplaceable player. The midfielder scored Costa Rica’s first ever Women’s World Cup goal, equalizing to 1-1 against Spain. She’s a vital part of the squad, with over 100 caps but she also has the honour of being Las Ticas’ all-time top goal scorer with 55 goals. For only being 29, Raquel shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Gloriana Villalobos, at 15, was the youngest player to ever feature at a senior World Cup. Having her name included in the team that achieved bronze at the Pan American Games in 2019, Villalobos has displayed her talents countless times in high pressure situations. Her experience will be extremely valuable during this tournament and other players are going to be sure to look up to her throughout the summer. She had an ankle injury after the pandemic but following her surgery, is back and shows no signs of not giving 110% this summer. Like everyone else, the midfielder is desperate to take the World Cup back home.
After making an early exit at Canada’s 2015 Women’s World Cup and completely missing out on the Women’s World Cup in 2019, Costa Rica will be determined to go far this summer.
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