Coach Alexandre Guimaraes knows that if his team is to stand any chance of beating Ecuador on Thursday, it should try to control the ball for longer periods of time. During the opening match, against Germany, the Ticos were able to hold possession for only a third of the time, being heavily overplayed in this [...]

If Costa Rica wants to advance to the second stage of the World Cup, it must beat Ecuador on Thursday. There’s no way around it. No wonder the president of the National Football Federation said the game will be a war between brothers. A war he hopes Costa Rica will come out as winners, naturally. [...]

Costa Rica did some training today after going back to Walldorf after the debut against Germany. Some physical recovery work was done in the morning, and a training match against walldorf’s Astoria FC took place in the afternoon. On Sunday the players will have a free morning, with another training session scheduled for the afternoon. [...]

Costa Rica’s left back Gilberto Martinez is virtually out of the World Cup, according to coach Alexandre Guimaraes. The player, who dressed for the Central Americans in yesterday’s loss to Germany (2-4) had to leave after 60 minutes when he again had problems with his left knee - which had already sidelined him just prior [...]

Despite the 4-2 loss in the opening match of the World Cup, Costa Rica did show a good effort against Germany. After suffering the early goal, Wanchope tied the game to bring some joy to the Ticos - even if for just a few minutes. And when the team fell back 3-1, he was there [...]

So the opening day of the 2006 World Cup is finally here. For Costa Rica, more than the pleasure of being in its third finals ever, the honour of taking part in the opening match. This time, against the host nation, Germany. It is obvious that the Germans are the natural favourites for the game that will take place in Munich this afternoon, and shall come out with the three points if all goes as planned.

The three players that were questionable after missing yesterday morning’s practice seem to have recovered and will probably start the game against Germany today in Munich. Goalkeeper Jose Francisco Porras, alongside defender Gilberto Martinez and midfielder Mauricio Solis were all in the pitch with the rest of the team last night, as Costa Rica practiced [...]

It’s not only Germany that has problems for tomorrow’s World Cup debut. With 24 hours left before the game, Costa Rica still has three question marks in regards to its starting lineup. Gilberto Martínez, Mauricio Solís and José Francisco Porras did not take part in the regular training session scheduled for this morning with the [...]

The Costa Rican National team arrived by train in Munich at the end of the day on Wednesday, being warmly greeted at the city’s train station by several Tico fans. The fans chanted “Oe, oe, oe, ticos, ticos”, as the players and coaching staff descended the train and headed to the bus that would take [...]

Neutral fans should hope the team can pull an upset against the Germans on Friday. After all, it would be just the natural cheering for the weaker side, something many neutral fans commonly find themselves doing during the World Cup. If they needed more of a reason, recent comments by German media, saying that Costa [...]