Costa Rica

Pedigree Nobody had to wait as long as Costa Rica to seal a place in Qatar — its playoff victory against New Zealand completed the field — but that does not mean it should be dismissed as a makeweight. This is a country that has reached the quarterfinals more recently than Spain, for example.

The Coach Luis Fernando Suárez has already been to the World Cup twice, once with Ecuador and once with Honduras, and his willingness to blood a new generation of players helped invigorate a listless Costa Rica and win a spot in Qatar. A couple of old-timers, like Celso Borges and Bryan Ruiz, remain, but this is now very much a team built by Suárez.

Key Question The group stage draw means few expect Costa Rica to repeat its heroics of 2014, when it came within a penalty shootout of making the semifinals. Its group that year, after all, was far harder, at least on paper: England, Italy and Uruguay. If anything, Costa Rica should probably go farther this time.

Full squad list.




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