Costa Rica’s national team head coach, Gustavo Alfaro, shared the list of 26 players that’ll square off against Panama for the CONCACAF Nations League in back-to-back matchups to clinch a berth in next year’s Copa America.
There were plenty of surprises in the list shown by the Argentinean coach. For starters, they’ll bring back Giancarlo Gonzalez despite having retired from the national team just last year. On top of that, veteran GK Keylor Navas won’t be a part of the team either.
Navas has yet to recover from a lower-back injury he suffered almost three weeks ago, and French side Paris Saint-Germain has been non-commital in terms of offering a potential return date for the former Real Madrid star. Also, Herediano’s Elias Aguilar will be a part of the team.
Match Preview
Costa Rica and Panama will meet for the first leg of a must-win, exciting quarter-final tie for the CONCACAF Nations League. The Panamanians are coming off logging 10 points in the group phase of the tournament, and they just made a statement with a big 3-0 win over Guatemala.
As for Costa Rica, they were one of the four pre-seeded teams, so they might not have the same competitive rhythm as their rivals ahead of this matchup, although they do have an edge in terms of talent.
Then again, it’s also worth noting that this is the dawn of a new era in Tico soccer. They will look to make the final four of this tournament for the second time in three editions, and they’ll do it featuring mostly new names and unknown faces.
Gustavo Alfaro is coming off a solid stint with the Ecuador national team, leading them to the FIFA World Cup thanks to a disciplined defense. They fell just short of the Round of 16 after losing to Senegal and finishing the group phase with 4 points. Now, he’ll look to replicate this success in CONCACAF.
Costa Rica could use a defensive turnaround right now. They’re fresh off a 4-1 loss to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), also allowing eight goals in four Gold Cup matches and 11 in three World Cup games, the most among all teams in the tournament. That’s why not having Keylor Navas could be such a tough blow.
What About Keylor’s Future?
Not so long ago, Keylor was considered one of the best goalkeepers on Earth. Often overlooked by Real Madrid fans, he anchored their defense en route to three UEFA Champions League trophies before being replaced by Thibaut Courtois.
Nonetheless, he’s also fallen out of favor at PSG, with Gianluigi Donnarumma handling the starting GK duties more often than not. He’s not getting any younger, and he might want to push for an exit before he wastes the sunset years of his career.
Navas will go down as one of the greatest — if not the greatest — goalkeepers in CONCACAF history, and Costa Rica will welcome him back with open arms as soon as he gets back to full strength.