Canada will be the first major hurdle Costa Rica will have to overcome in their bid to sneak into the Concacaf World Cup playoff spot in Qatar.
The Ticos will host the undefeated qualifying rounds leader who will look to San Jose to certify the direct ticket to their first World Cup — the second in history — since 1986. The Canadians set the tone with 25 points.
The task for those led by Colombian Luis Fernando Suárez will not be easy, although Costa Rica’s performance in the last three games – with two wins against Panama and Jamaica, as well as a draw against Mexico – has filled supporters of optimism.
Costa Rica must add all the points they can from the nine they will play in the last three meetings against Canada, visiting El Salvador and again at home against the United States. Some setbacks are also expected by Panama, current holder of fourth place in the playoffs with 17 units, with only one point separating them.
Costa Rican captain Bryan Ruiz acknowledges that his team will play everything in this first encounter against the Canadians, and he is also personally playing for the last chance to attend a World Cup as he did at Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018.
“I have a moment which could be my last matches in the national team, so hopefully it will go well for us, that we can stay alive and qualify for Qatar and that there can be more matches. “, said the creative midfielder.
At 36 and now as an Alajuelense figure in his country, Ruiz leads the group of local league footballers that Coach Suárez trusts to do the job, as they are the ones he has been able to work with the especially so that his game idea is put into practice.
Despite initial doubts about his presence due to the flu, goaltender Keylor Navas arrived in the country on Tuesday and is fully qualified to be in Thursday’s game against the Canadiens.
“Legamos en el greatest momento de la eliminatoria, las cosas llegan en el momento justo y tengan la tranquilidad de que vamos a darlo todo”, dijo el guardameta del Paris Saint-Germanin. “El costarricense cuando está en estas situaciones, salimos a dar the face”.
Although Canada will not count for this match with its main figure, Bayern Munich full-back Alphonso Davies, the solidity shown by the team led by Jonh Herdman and figures such as Jonathan David (Lille de France) maintain it as the favorite to serve at least a tie when they visit San Jose.
“When we first came together, we wanted to be pioneers in many ways. One of them was to create a new Canada as a soccer nation. We now have Costa Rica in front of us. This game is everything right now,” Herdman said.
The match will be played at the National Stadium, which will be packed to capacity in its 35,000 seats on Thursday, for the first time since the start of the covid-19 pandemic.
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