No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeLa SeleNew lineup falls short, South Korea beats La Sele 2-0

New lineup falls short, South Korea beats La Sele 2-0

Costa Rica’s men’s national team experienced abundant growing pains Friday when it debuted a youth-laden lineup and a new-look formation in a friendly against South Korea.

In its first action since this summer’s World Cup, La Sele fell 2-0, a deserved result as Costa Rica struggled to generate offensive opportunities or even maintain possession.

Despite starting the match in a 4-2-3-1 formation designed to empower defensive stability and attacking creativity, Costa Rica managed only a single shot on target late in the second half. Meanwhile, South Korea’s versatile Nam Tae-Hee bothered the backline throughout.

In the 33rd minute, Nam slipped behind Tico defender Cristian Gamboa, who dragged down the midfielder. South Korean captain Son Heung-Min missed the ensuing penalty, but Lee Jae-Sung was left unmarked and tapped in the rebound to open the scoring.

Nam sealed the result in the 78th minute by finishing a South Korean counterattack with a fierce short-range strike.

If Costa Rica qualifies for the 2022 World Cup, the team it sends to Qatar will look vastly different from the one fans saw this summer in Russia — which ranked as the oldest squad in the tournament. Interim manager Ronald González emphasized youth Friday, starting Mayron Clayton, 24, at striker and supporting him with a midfield featuring Jimmy Marín, 20, Allan Cruz, 22, and Elías Aguilar, 26.

The inexperience showed against South Korea, which dominated possession and had a flurry of scoring chances midway through the first half. But Costa Rican goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado made a pair of sure-handed saves to keep the game close.

La Sele will face Japan on Tuesday at Panasonic Stadium near Osaka in another international friendly.

Trending Now

Route 32 Reopens Following Preventive Closure Over Landslide Risk

Route 32, which connects San José with Limón, was reopened this morning after being closed for nearly 12 hours as a preventive measure due...

Mexico Battles Wildfire Damage with Drone-Based Reforestation

Authorities in the state of Michoacán, in western Mexico, are using drones to scatter seeds from the air in an effort to reforest hundreds...

Costa Rica’s Tourism Sector Alarmed Over Rising Violence and U.S. Criticism

Tourism leaders in Costa Rica are warning that rising crime and international criticism could damage the country’s reputation as one of Latin America’s safest...

Costa Rica Issues Green Weather Alert as Heavy Rains Expected

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) has declared a green weather alert across Costa Rica due to the expected increase in rainfall over the coming...

Costa Rica President Confronts Calls to Strip Immunity

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves denounced today an “attempted judicial coup” as he appeared before a congressional committee that must recommend to the full...

Honduras Community Demands Justice in Environmental Murder Case

Three defendants accused of murdering an environmental activist in Honduras 11 months ago appeared before a court this Thursday for a preliminary hearing, the...
spot_img
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