The road to FIFA World Cup is almost starting and the coverage is ramping up! Expect every detail from the CONCACAF qualifiers and specially news from Costa Rica.

Hold on tight!

Costa Rica is two days away from one of the most expected games in the final qualifying round: against Mexico. After being totally ripped into pieces in San Pedro Sula, now is the time for the Ticos to rise and shine! The Saprissa stadium will host the most crucial match in CONCACAF this weekend and both teams need to win.

In one corner you have Mexico. Currently stands fourth and is desperate for points because they are in a risky situation right now. The Mexicans have lost each and every game playing as the visiting team. It is obvious that they are not such a strong team when they are not playing in the Azteca. The last results have been a bit positive for Mexico after beating the US twice in a row and you can see a small improvement (compared to Ericsson´s team). But playing in San Jose with a packed stadium thirsty for goals is not that easy. Plus, the pitch is not in good conditions; the ball bounces in a funky way and it rolls faster.

On the other hand, Costa Rica needs to win every home game in order to have a on spot in South Africa. Costa Rica´s defense has been changed because of the poor performance in the last game. Fernandez and Wallace were not even taken into account by Kenton, instead Villalobos and Johnson were called up. Another thing to consider is that Centeno will probably miss the match because of a recent injury. This is certainly a sensitive loss. Centeno is the most experienced player and is the one who leads the team in the offense. He is also the team captain and is very accurate in free kicks. Many journalists have said that Oviedo will play for Centeno. So to sum everything up, Costa Rica needs to win on Saturday night, losing is not an option.

*Photo from Ovacion, AL DIA, H. Arley*

Costa Rica will be playing in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Wednesday night. Watch a match!! The two best teams in Central America will be facing once again. The Ticos defeated the Catrachos in February 2-0 in San Jose and now it is time for Honduras to be the local team and take advantage of playing in their own backyard. There are many things that make this match a very interesting one; lets go point by point.

First of all, there has always been a harsh rivalry between Ticos and Catrachos. Second, Costa Rica currently stands first in the table, this does not mean that they can play cool and relaxed, but it definitely puts the pressure on the local team. Besides, Honduras has a sad history of missing world cups by losing points in home games. I think coach Kenton knows that if you play a defensive game in Honduras you will probably end up losing, so I am expecting a well balanced team with two forwards (Saborio for sure and probably Herron).

On another subject, you cannot hide the fact that Honduras is currently a country in turmoil because of all the political crap that I am not going to talk about. In the last weeks there has been several deaths after two football games that took place in Honduras, there has been lots of riots (due to the political turmoil) and to make it worse the swine flue is spreading in San Pedro Sula. In fact there wont be many Ticos flying over to Honduras because of safety reasons; according to local news agencies, only a handful will be in the stadium.

Finally, I am expecting a difficult match, but Costa Rica can take advantage of the pressure upon the desperate for points Honduran team. I am expecting a win, but a tie does it for me.

Costa Rica will play against Canada today in Miami, FL. It will be a tough one tonight; Canada has always played a very solid football against the Ticos in the previous Gold Cup tournaments. In fact, Canada has always taken these tournaments very seriously and they even became Champions in 2000. Taking this into account, I don´t really understand why they always make crappy appearances in FIFA qualifiers.

I must say, I am impressed with the tournament´s good outcome so far, in terms of packed stadiums and fair play (not taking into account last night´s Aguirre´s horrible performance). You obviously cant compare the Gold Cup´s quality with the recent Confederations Cup, but it has been entertaining to watch on TV. I think the organizers should pay more attention to security issues. The game between Costa Rica and El Salvador was packed with Salvadoran fans who threw bottles and trash to the field. I also watched this behavior in last night´s match between Mexico and Panama.

I´m not pleased with the Ticos performance so far, the players lack in rhythm (most of the players were in vacations), there have been many defensive mistakes, and the strikers have not been very tuned in. Costa Rica lost against El Salvador because of two major defensive mistakes, plus the Salvadoran team was ultra defensive. Costa Rica had much more ball control but did not find the key to the game and lost in a fair match. Then in a horrible match, the Ticos defeated the Reggae Boys only by one goal when Jamaica was playing with 10 men most of the game. I hope the Ticos win tonight in order to advance to the quarter finals. Costa Rica is missing some key players that couldn’t joint the squad because the Gold Cup is not in FIFA´s official schedule. Still…I am expecting more from the team who currently stands first in the World Cup´s final qualifying round.

Costa Rica finished the first half of the final round qualifiers in first place with 12 points. The Ticos defeated the Soca Warriors (Trinidad & Tobago) last night 2-3 in the Caribbean island and brought home 3 points that mean lots of things. Costa Rica demonstrated that they could win as the visiting team (not only in the Saprissa stadium). T&T started winning with a free kick in the first half. In the 40th minute, Saborio tied the game wich was starting to be handled by the visiting team. In the second half, Borges scored 2 beautiful goals and that was it. Bryan Ruiz was booked and will miss the next game in Honduras.

It is extremely important to win your home games in the final round of the CONCACAF´s FIFA qualifiers, but if you also win as the visiting team, it means that you´re doing something right. Costa Rica is enjoying its first place and is now very close to the World Cup.

Now, the US stands second, followed by El Salvador (surprisingly defeated Mexico), Honduras, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago in last place.

Costa Rica defeated team USA once again 3-1 in a beautiful evening for football!! And it all started only a minute and a half after kickoff. Saborio broke the defense with a sharp pass from Herron and made an excellent goal from outside the box. Then came a beautiful play in the left side by Sirias and Ruiz ending with the second goal by Borges. The first half ended with a a surprisingly shy US team…no Donovan, no DMB, no Bradley and certainly no defense at all. Costa Rica was playing very relaxed, Centeno and Ruiz were very loose… team USA´s right back was awful.

The second half began with both teams trying to have the ball. Herrera jumped to the pitch for Herron and made and excellent play outside the box leaving Bradley behind(awful player by the way…) and then went into the box leaving other defenders on the road and whaaaaaaaammm…. the third goal (I think the defense is still dizzy). A totally packed Saprissa stadium exploded with joy, the young player had just scored with a lovely play. And why shouldn´t we celebrate??? We´re playing against the suposely best team in CONCACAF and they had three goals in the bag. At the end of the game, (90+ minute) Donovan scored a penalty kick and the game ended with a win for Costa Rica.

Now team USA is no longer at first place, Costa Rica is currently at the top of the chart with 9 points and hoping to win at Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday. So there are no excuses, Costa Rica had a very important win and this can give a huge mental rush for the players for the next game. The Ticos are surely going to try to bring back the three points from the Caribbean island, so beware T&T. Costa Rica will miss Diaz and Umaña because of bookings, and also Wallace and Herron because of injuries. All this also sends a clear message to the other teams… dont mess with the Ticos. Oh its nice to be in first place…!! This is a huge step towards the World Cup, and no one can deny it.

Ok so its FIFA qualifiers again and Costa Rica will receive team USA on Wednesday. But before I start talking about this, let me congratulate Liberia Mia on their first Championship, they beat Herediano with a 3-0 aggregate… it was about time for a ¨small¨ team to win a title.

Next Wedensay will be the fourth fixture for CONCACAF´s qualifiers. It is a win or win situation for Costa Rica in order to keep the dream alive. The Ricardo Saprissa stadium has not been an easy location for the US, the crowd and pressure is intense here. I am expecting a very organized team USA (as usual), it is very hard to break their tactical scheme and they have players in really good leagues around the world. On the other hand, I am expecting an offensive Costa Rica trying to take advantage over free kicks, corner kicks and specially some individualities in the box. Expect long range kicks because Costa Rica´s midfield is plagued with really good long range kickers. Keep and eye on Carlos Hernandez, Walter Centeno, and Bryan Ruiz.

So lets just wait and see… how do you think the game will be?? Any predictions??

I predict a 2-1 win for Costa Rica. Vamos ticos!!!

Ok… enough is enough… lets talk about football. Costa Rica defeated El Salvador 1-0 last week in a boring game. I didn´t like how Costa Rica managed to play the game. I was hoping that the Ticos would make at least 3 goals, but instead El Salvador played a very defensive game (not bad at all). Costa Rica is currently lacking in the offensive department, there are not many clear opportunities, so this leads to despair and tiredness. And I saw this in the last game, Costa Rica tried and tried, but El Salvador had a solid defensive scheme that was very hard to break through. At the end, Costa Rica won the three points and that´s that. As I said before, winning home games is crucial.

The next round is against team USA in San Jose (CRC). Costa Rica needs to display a flexible and faster pace in order to beat the best team in CONCACAF in June. Costa Rica currently stands second, just behind USA and above Honduras.

Mexico defeated Costa Rica last Saturday in Mexico DF. Mexico played a regular game, but enough to beat a very shy Costarican team. The first 19 minutes of the game were dominated by the visiting team, the Ticos were handling the ball and keeping a very steady flow of the game. But then, thanks to a deffensive mistake, Omar Bravo scored… and then it was just downhill.

The Costarican midfield started fading and the strikers were left alone. The second goal was scored by Pavel Pardo. It was a penalty kick, and I am not really sure if it really was one, but it didn´t matter because in that moment Mexico was clearly dominating the game. No excuses…

It seems to me that if Costa Rica would have jumped into the pitch with a different mentality, we could have done much better because Mexico was not so punishing like in other games. But oh well, it was a tough lesson.

Now El Salvador is next. They played a good game agaisnt team USA in San Salvador, but they will be missing 3 players here in San Jose on next Wednesday (Quintanilla, Escobar, and Castillo) because of bookings and injuries. Winning at home is the key in this final qualifiers round, and I think Costa Rica will wrap it up. I´m expecting a 2-0 win.

Costa Rica stands second with Mexico.

The Mexican team has a lot of great figures playing in their local league and in Europe. I think that they have a great squad but they also have a tendency to underestimate their rivals, specially from Central America.

Nowadays there is sort of a ¨crisis¨ in the Mexican Football Federation with Ericsson´s performance. Mexico is mentally weak. I´ll be honest with you, I really hope Costa Rica can really take advantage of this situatiuon because right now the Ticos are handling things way much better with the press and between the players. There is a sense of union and partneship around ¨La Sele¨ that I have not seen in quite a while. I know it will be very hard to repeat what happened in 2001 when Costa Rica defeated Mexico at the Azteca in the famous Aztecazo, but I am sure of one thing, Costa Rica will not play a defensive game because the players have in mind what happened that year.

Costa Rica has been playing very good since the last qualifying round and started with a victory over Honduras, I hope this good performance continues, and why not… bring back 3 points like we did in 2001.