Former Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz will take temporary charge of the national team after the Costa Rican Football Federation fired Argentine coach Fernando Batista following a disastrous start to the Concacaf Nations League. The federation announced today that Batista and his coaching staff had been removed and that Ruiz would lead La Sele for its two remaining Nations League group matches. Costa Rica travels to Managua to face Nicaragua on Thursday, October 1, before returning home to play Haiti at Ricardo Saprissa Stadium on Sunday, October 4.
The move comes after Costa Rica lost its opening two matches of the competition, falling 4-3 at home to Curaçao on Thursday and then losing 2-0 to Haiti in Kingston, Jamaica, on Sunday. Those defeats ended Batista’s short and unsuccessful spell in charge. He coached Costa Rica in six matches without recording a victory, finishing with one draw and five losses. The team scored four goals and conceded 19 during that stretch.
Batista had been brought in earlier this year as Costa Rica attempted to rebuild following its failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. But the results never arrived, and the back-to-back Nations League defeats ultimately convinced federation officials to make another coaching change.
Ruiz, one of the best-known players in Costa Rican soccer history, now steps into the job with only a few days to prepare for Nicaragua. The former national team captain played a central role in Costa Rica’s historic run to the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, scoring the winning goal against Italy and another against Greece in the Round of 16.
His coaching experience remains limited, although he recently got an early taste of managing at the senior level with Liga Deportiva Alajuelense. Ruiz took temporary control of the club following the departure of Ismael Rescalvo and won both matches he coached before returning to his previous role with Alajuelense’s under-20 team.
The federation has made clear that Ruiz’s appointment with the national team is also temporary. He will oversee the matches against Nicaragua and Haiti before officials begin the process of choosing a permanent coach for the road toward the 2030 World Cup.The immediate challenge is stopping one of Costa Rica’s worst runs in recent memory.
La Sele has now gone 350 days without a victory. Its last win came against Nicaragua on October 13, 2025, during World Cup qualifying. Since then, Costa Rica has gone eight consecutive matches without winning, a stretch that has included qualifiers, friendlies and Nations League games.
That makes Thursday’s match particularly significant. Ruiz’s first game in charge will come against the same opponent Costa Rica defeated the last time it celebrated a victory. Kickoff against Nicaragua is scheduled for 8 p.m. Costa Rica time at the National Stadium in Managua. Ruiz will then make his home coaching debut three days later when La Sele faces Haiti at 6 p.m. at Ricardo Saprissa Stadium.
