No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsCosta RicaCosta Rican National Team to face former coach Jorge Luis Pinto at...

Costa Rican National Team to face former coach Jorge Luis Pinto at Gold Cup

Costa Rica’s National Team, or La Sele, landed in Group A of the upcoming 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup that will take place in the United States from July 7-26. That means Los Ticos will face Honduras, led by their former head coach Jorge Luis Pinto, as well as Canada and French Guiana.

Costa Rica and Honduras will play the group’s inaugural match on July 7 at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.

La Sele then will face Canada on July 11 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston and will wrap up the group stage against French Guiana on July 14 at the Toyota Stadium in Dallas.

In a news release from the Costa Rican Football Federation, head coach Óscar Ramírez said the opener against Honduras will be a challenge for his team. He also  noted that La Sele will have to play Honduras three times within a six-month period.

“Honduras is doing a great job under Coach Pinto, and I know they will be a tough opponent,” Ramírez said right after the official draw held at Santa Clara, California on Tuesday evening.

Regarding Canada, Ramírez said that despite being out of the final round of World Cup qualifying matches, the Canadian team combines experienced and young players that will likely put up a good fight.

The coach said Costa Rica will have to prepare carefully as the Canadians are tough players, with a strong biotype.

“They’re tall, aggressive, and very disciplined, so I think it will be a complex game,” he said.

Ramírez said he knows very little about French Guiana, but that they likely have good players who eventually get contracts in French teams: “Like most Caribbean teams, their gamestyle is mostly based on their physical strenghth.”

He also said he has yet to define the final list of players he will take to the tournament. He said he will evaluate the physical state of players who play abroad, but will also consider players performing well locally.

See Ramírez statements after the draw:

The U.S. National Team was seeded on Group B and will be looking to earn its sixth regional title. The team will open against Panama on July 8 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. They will then face Martinique and will end group play against either Haiti or Nicaragua.

Each group of four teams will visit three cities during group play.

Group A
New York/New Jersey (Red Bull Arena), Houston (BBVA Compass Stadium), Dallas (Toyota Stadium)
-Honduras
-Costa Rica
-Canada
-French Guiana

Group B
Nashville (Nissan Stadium), Tampa (Raymond James Stadium), Cleveland (FirstEnergy Stadium)
-United States
-Panama
-Martinique
-Haiti or Nicaragua

Group C
San Diego (Qualcomm Stadium), Denver (Sports Authority Field), San Antonio (Alamodome)
-Mexico
-El Salvador
-Curacao
-Jamaica

Trending Now

Guatemala Offers Asylum to Nicaraguan Migrants Deported by U.S.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo announced on Friday that his country will grant asylum to Nicaraguan migrants deported by the United States who do not...

Costa Rica’s Rare Birds at Risk as Human Activity Threatens Extinction

Costa Rica’s bare-necked umbrellabird, a striking black bird with a red throat pouch and crest, is in trouble. A new study in Nature Ecology...

Costa Rica Joins U.S. Global Entry, Easing Travel for Tourists

Costa Rica took a big step forward, by officially joining the U.S. Global Entry program, a move set to make travel smoother for Costa...

Costa Rica’s Top Court Bans President Chaves from 2026 Election Campaign

Costa Rica’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal on Thursday barred President Rodrigo Chaves from participating in the 2026 election campaign, ruling that he "illegitimately used" his...

Life After MS-13 in El Salvador as Residents Seek a Fragile Peace

Esperanza Martinez lost three relatives who were murdered and saw numerous bodies left in the streets of her neighborhood, a former stronghold of the...

Costa Rica Maintains Economic Stability Amid Global Tensions

Costa Rica is holding steady economically despite global tensions sparked by conflicts involving Israel, the United States, and Iran, according to Federico Quesada Chaves,...
L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica