The national team of Costa Rica before the start of the World Cup was considered one of the weakest among the teams that took part in the championship. However, the game of the Central Americans refuted many betting deals and the opinion of experts.
After the draw put Costa Rica in the same group with Italy, England and Uruguay, many felt that the Costa Ricans would not play more than three games in the world championship. However, it happened differently.
In the first game, the Costa Ricans beat Uruguay 3-1. The result stunned the football community. True, many considered this not a regularity, but an accident.
In the second game of the group stage, the Costa Ricans did not allow the Italians on the field. The four-time world champions looked frankly weak and helpless, and the final score of the match (1 - 0 in favor of Costa Rica) made to talk about Costa Ricans as the main opening of the championship. After two victories over Uruguay and England, Costa Rican players already had the best chance of making it out of the death group.
Costa Rica played the final match in Quartet D against England. Now the British could not score anything to the brilliant Navas. The final score of the meeting 0 - 0 put Costa Rica in first place in the group of death of the FIFA World Cup.
In the 1/8 final match, Costa Rica met with Greece. The main and extra time of the match ended in a draw 1 - 1. Moreover, the Greeks had to recoup. It happened only in the last minutes of the meeting. In the penalty shootout, the Costa Rican players were the luckiest. It was this team that moved on.
In the quarterfinals, the Costa Ricans did not concede anything in regular and extra time from the Dutch players. The game again ended with a series of penalties, in which the Europeans were more successful.
Costa Rica's footballers left the tournament after the quarterfinals. Moreover, it is worth noting that this team did not lose a single match in regular and extra time at the world championship. This result is triumphant for Costa Rica. All football players, coaching staff and team members are now the real sports heroes of Costa Rica.
