Costa Rica looks to seize opportunity at home

November 11, 2009

Costa Rica was 30 seconds from earning a trip to the World Cup next year. Now it has another 180 minutes to try again.

If the Costa Rican national team wants to qualify to the quadrennial championship in South Africa, it will have to capitalize on the home-field advantage Saturday in the first leg of its qualifying playoff against Uruguay at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San José.

Any other result will make the Ticos’ desire of a third straight trip to the World Cup much more difficult. Four days later, la Tricolor will visit mythic Estadio Centenario in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo.

After failing to earn a direct berth – allowing a 95th minute equalizer to the United States on October 14 in Washington, Costa Rica now must face an opponent with a roster filled with foreign-based players such as Diego Forlan, last year’s leading scorer in Spain’s La Liga.

In Costa Rica, expectations are high. The 19,500 tickets put on sale sold out in a day and half, assuring a capacity crowd at el Saprissa.

Certain details are sure to affect the first leg, not the least of which is Saprissa’s artificial surface which gave the the Ticos a distinct advantage throughout World Cup qualifying. In its nine games at home, Costa Rica won eight by a combined score of 23-1, not counting its only blemish: a 3-0 defeat to Mexico during a three-game losing streak in August and September.

However, according to the history between the two teams, the numbers do not favor Rene Simoes’ charges. Costa Rica has never defeated La Celeste in eight tries, friendlies or competitive matches.

On Saturday, Costa Rica will have its full rosters available, including its most notable foreign-based player, Bryan Ruiz. Ruiz’s nine goals so far this season with FC Twente in the Netherlands make the youngster Costa Rica’s most dangerous attacker.

On the other side of the field, los Charruas have been hit by a number of a key absences, including injuries to Jorge Fucile of Porto in Portugal and Jorge “Malaka” Martinez of Italy’s Catania.

Additionally, Uruguay will without several players due to accumulated yellow or red-card suspensions: Martín Cáceres (Juventus, Italy), Andrés Scotti (Argentinos Juniors, Argentina), Diego Pérez (Mónaco, France) y Maximiliano Pereira (Benfica, Portugal). Porto midfielder Christian Rodriguez will miss both playoff matches after receiving a four-match ban for striking Argentina’s Gabriel Heinze after the final whistle on October 14.

Heading into the match, Simoes has opted to close all training sessions to the media to limit knowledge of his tactics and plans. Uruguay has moved its training camp to Guatemala, where it is preparing on an artificial surfance to get ready for the turf in el Saprissa.

With all his secrecy, however, Simoes will not be on the Costa Rica bench Saturday, having been ejected from the end of the 2-2 draw against the United States on October 14. FIFA subsequently suspended him for one match.

Both games will be officiated by European referees, the first having been assigned to Spain’s Alberto Indiano while the second to Switzerland’s Massimo Busacca.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica

By Kenneth Hernández Cerdas