Navas, Ruiz, Borges get another chance at World Cup
Three of Costa Rica's greatest players will get one last shot at the World Cup playing together.
Goalkeeper Keylor Navas, forward Bryan Ruíz and midfielder Celso Borges were all part of the team that reached the quarterfinals at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and then qualified again for the tournament in 2018.
The 37-year-old Ruíz has already said he will end his international career after this year's tournament in Qatar.
Alongside the 35-year-old Navas and the 34-year-old Borges, Ruíz led Costa Rica to its best World Cup finish in Brazil. The team topped a group that included Italy, Uruguay and England, and then beat Greece on penalties in the round of 16.
Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suárez has said that Ruíz, who was not at his best during qualifying, will be in his squad because of his leadership over the years.
TOUGH GROUP
For the tournament in Qatar, Costa Rica again had a difficult draw, placed into Group E with Spain, Germany and Japan.
The Ticos will open against Spain on Nov. 23 before playing Japan four days later. The last match of the group stage will be against the Germans on Dec. 1.
"What matters most to me is that every one of our players has full awareness of the skills our rivals have," Suárez said. "Spain has ball possession, Japan has width on the field, Germany has intensity."
ANOTHER WORLD CUP
The 62-year-old Suárez has previous World Cup experience. The Colombian coach took Ecuador to the tournament in 2006 and Honduras to the 2014 edition. He is expected to remain as coach of Costa Rica for the next four years.
Costa Rica will play friendlies against Iraq and Nigeria before the World Cup starts.
KEYLOR NAVAS
Keylor Antonio Navas has made over 100 appearances for Costa Rica since making his debut in 2008.
He has represented the country at two CONCACAF Gold Cups and the 2014 and 2018 editions of the FIFA World Cup.
He was a member of the Costa Rica national team that reached the semi-finals of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which he was named best goalkeeper.
Navas was part of the Costa Rica national team that played in the 2003 FIFA U-17 World
Championship held in Finland. He was called up for the senior national team for the first time in August 2006, to play a friendly tournament in Europe against Austria and Switzerland.
He was a member of the team that won a bronze medal at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. Navas gained his debut senior cap on 11 October 2008, in a 4–1 away victory over Suriname in the third round of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which qualified the team into the next stage.
His impressive performances also helped the team reach the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup.
Navas made his debut in the FIFA World Cup on 14 June 2014, appearing in a 3–1 group stage win against Uruguay in Fortaleza, and started the other two group games only conceding a single goal as Costa Rica qualified for the knockout stages as group winners for the first time.
On 29 June, in the round of 16 match against Greece, Navas was named man of the match after several saves in normal time and a save from Theofanis Gekas' kick during the penalty shootout, which led to Costa Rica reaching the quarter-finals for the first time ever.
He ended the tournament with three clean sheets from five matches, as the country was knocked out by the Netherlands after a penalty shootout, where he was named man of the match for the third time, the only goalkeeper to do so.
He was also one of three nominees for the Golden Glove Award, losing out to Manuel Neuer of Germany.
THE FUTURE
Costa Rica is likely to take some new faces to Qatar, including 18-year-old midfielder Brandon Aguilera — recently signed by Nottingham Forest — and Sunderland winger Jewison Bennette.
Suárez brought the latter to the national team before he had even played in the country's first division.
And it was Bennette who delivered the cross scored by Joel Campbell that gave Costa Rica its only goal in the international playoff victory over New Zealand.
Costa Rica will be playing in its sixth World Cup in Qatar. The team qualified in 1990, 2002 and 2006 before reaching the last two with Navas, Ruíz and Borges.