Costa Rica flies to Germany

After a week on a luxurious tourist complex on the Pacific, the Costa Rican National team finished its first stage of preparation for the World Cup on Monday. The 22 players who took part in the preparation camp were given 24 hours off and are expected to report back to the team this afternoon at the San Jose International Airport. The trip to Germany will take place tonight. Defender Gilberto Martinez, from Italy’s Brescia, will join his teamates in Lahr, where the team will continue preparation for the World Cup.

The team will play three friendlies prior to its debut on June 9 against hosts Germany. On May 24 against Catalunya in Barcelona, four days later against fellow World Cup qualifiers Ukraine in Kiev and finally a match on May 30 against the Czech Republic, in the Czech town of Jablonec.