Costa Rica national football team

• 1. Introduction

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  Costa Rica's national football team walked onto the pitch in September 1921 for the very first time and promptly beat El Salvador 7-0. Nobody watching those early matches in Guatemala City could have imagined that a small Central American nation would one day be given odds of 2500-1 to win a World Cup, and then proceed to knock out three former champions in the group stage. That is the story this documentary will explore: how a team nicknamed "The Gold Shorties" went from also-rans in the CONCACAF region to quarter-finalists on the world's biggest stage, and what it cost them when they finally fell short again.

• 2. Born in Guatemala City

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  The Independence Centenary Games of September 1921 gave Costa Rica football its founding moment. The team beat El Salvador by seven goals to nil in its debut, then went further and defeated Guatemala 6-0 in the final to claim the trophy. Those scorelines set a tone of attacking ambition that would define the squad for decades. By the late 1940s, the team had acquired the nickname "The Gold Shorties", and through the 1950s and into the 1960s they ranked as the second-strongest side in the CONCACAF zone, finishing behind Mexico in World Cup qualifying in 1958, 1962, and 1966. Stars of that era included Ruben Jimenez, Errol Daniels, Leonel Hernandez, and Edgar Marin. Despite that regional standing, qualification for the World Cup itself remained out of reach, and as the 1970s arrived, neighbours including Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada all rose in prominence to close the gap.

• 3. Moscow, Los Angeles, and a Slow Rebuild

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  Costa Rica failed to qualify for any World Cup during the 1970s or 1980s, but the squad did appear on the Olympic stage. In Moscow in 1980, the Ticos were placed in Group D alongside Yugoslavia, Finland, and Iraq, losing all three matches. Four years later in Los Angeles, the story took a better turn. Costa Rica lost to the United States and to Egypt, but beat an Italy side that included Walter Zenga, Pietro Vierchowod, Franco Baresi, and Aldo Serena, winning 1-0 through a goal from midfielder Enrique Rivers. That result against such a decorated line-up hinted at what was possible. In the 1986 qualifying cycle, the team finally made it back to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the first time in years, a small but meaningful signal that the squad was finding its level again.

• 4. Italia 90 and the First World Cup

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  The 1989 CONCACAF Championship gave Costa Rica its ticket to the World Cup. In qualifying, goals from Juan Cayasso and Hernán Medford helped beat Panama in the first round, and the team then advanced automatically after Mexico were disqualified for age fraud. Costa Rica finished first in the final qualifying group, ahead of the United States on goal difference, sealing passage to Italy 1990. Their opening World Cup match produced a 1-0 win over Scotland, again thanks to Cayasso. A defeat to Brazil followed, before Costa Rica beat Sweden 2-1 in the last group match to reach the knockout rounds. There they met Czechoslovakia, losing 4-1; Tomáš Skuhravý scored a hat-trick for the Czechs. Even so, that run placed Costa Rica 13th at the tournament and established the squad as a genuine presence in world football for the first time.

• 5. Korea-Japan and the Aztecazo

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  After missing the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, Costa Rica regrouped under coaches Gílson Nunes and then Alexandre Guimarães. Qualifying for 2002 nearly unravelled before it started when an unexpected 2-1 defeat to Barbados opened the first group stage. Recovery came through wins driven by Rolando Fonseca and Hernán Medford, and a 5-2 play-off victory over Guatemala in Miami put the team back on track. The most memorable night of the campaign came in Mexico City: a 2-1 win over Mexico at the Azteca, known ever since as the Aztecazo, with goals from Fonseca and Medford. Costa Rica qualified with a brace from Fonseca in an emotional 2-0 home win against the United States. At the tournament in South Korea and Japan, drawn into Group C with Brazil, China, and Turkey, the Ticos beat China 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Turkey through an 86th-minute goal from Winston Parks, before being eliminated after a 5-2 defeat to Brazil.

• 6. Brazil 2014 and the Quarter-Final

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  Brazil 2014 stands as Costa Rica's finest World Cup. Drawn into Group D against Italy, England, and Uruguay, three former tournament winners, the team was given odds of 2500-1 to win the competition. They beat Uruguay and Italy, drew 0-0 with England, and finished top of the group. Coach Jorge Luis Pinto had built the side over several years; former player Rónald González later pointed to long-term progress since 2007 as the foundation of that achievement. In the round of 16 against Greece, Keylor Navas saved more than 15 shots, and Costa Rica won 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The quarter-final against the Netherlands ended goalless through extra time before the Dutch won 4-3 on penalties on the 5th of July. Costa Rica rose 12 places to 16th in the FIFA World Rankings after the tournament, and their all-time highest Football Elo Rating of 1806 was recorded that year.

• 7. Regional Roots and Continental Honours

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  Alongside the World Cup story, Costa Rica carries a deep record of regional dominance. The Federación Costarricense de Fútbol was founded in 1921, affiliated with FIFA since 1927, and was among the founding members of CONCACAF in 1961. Within that confederation, Costa Rica has won three CONCACAF Championship titles: 1963, 1969, and 1989, becoming the first champions of the competition at its inaugural edition. Their best Gold Cup result since the format changed was a runners-up finish in 2002. At the sub-regional level, the team won seven CCCF Championship titles and eight Copa Centroamericana titles, making them the most successful Central American national team by that measure. Their all-time highest average Football Elo Ranking in Central America sits at 1597.1. Rolando Fonseca holds the record for most international goals with 47 in 113 appearances, while Celso Borges leads all players in caps with 164 and counting as of March 2026.

• 8. Disappointment and What Comes Next

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  The 2022 World Cup opened with a 7-0 defeat to Spain in Doha on the 23rd of November, the joint-worst result in the team's professional history, matching a loss to Mexico by the same score in Mexico City on the 17th of August 1975. Costa Rica beat Japan in the next group match and briefly moved into a position to advance in the live standings during the final game against Germany before late German goals ended that hope. The 2026 World Cup campaign brought a different kind of pain. Needing a win on the final matchday to finish first in their second-round group, Costa Rica drew 0-0 with Honduras while Haiti beat Nicaragua, sending Haiti to the World Cup for the first time since 1974 and eliminating Costa Rica and Honduras together. It was the first failed qualification since 2010. Head coach Miguel Herrera was sacked shortly after. Fernando Batista has since taken charge, and the squad was called up for the Jordan International Tournament in March 2026, keeping the cycle of renewal that has always been the team's quiet constant.