Following their bitter 3-2 aggregate loss to Panama last November, Costa Rica now enters a crucial two-leg qualifier against Belize for a spot in the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The first leg will be played at the FFB Stadium in Belize’s capital city of Belmopan before the decisive return leg in Costa Rica next week.
Belize Profile
Located on the northeastern coast of Central America, Belize borders Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. The nation is relatively small, measuring 290 kilometers (180 miles) in length and 110 kilometers (68 miles) in width, making it easy to miss on the map. It is also the only Central American country whose official language isn’t Spanish but English, so let’s pray for no communication issues between the sides on Friday!
Nicknamed The Jaguars due to the country being home to the largest jaguar population in Central America, Belize has been a proud member of CONCACAF and FIFA since 1986 (five years after they achieved independence from the United Kingdom).
With a population just shy of 400,000 (the smallest in the whole of Central America), The Jaguars were long viewed as one of the weaker teams in CONCACAF, with a record lowly placing of 201st in the FIFA rankings back in 2008. But things have markedly improved in recent years, with an impressive fourth-place finish in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana thanks to a surprise 2-1 victory over Nicaragua, widely considered the greatest result in the country’s footballing history.
This was followed by qualification to a first major international competition at the 2013 CONCACAF Gold, where they lost all three fixtures, including a 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica. They also achieved a record-high FIFA ranking of 114th in 2016 after a shock 1-1 draw at home to Canada.
Belize achieved qualification for this round by winning their Nations League C group, beating both Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands home and away without conceding a single goal. Followed by a 4-3 victory over French Guiana in the Nations League Play-in.
Coached by native Charlie Slusher, The Jaguars have achieved an outstanding five victories out of six games (with the other one ending in a draw) in his short tenure, albeit against nations that are not in the top 200 FIFA rankings and French Guiana, which are not FIFA members.
Nonetheless, there is reason for optimism for Slusher and his squad, which is comprised of players mainly from the Belize Premier League and predominantly from the clubs of Port Loyola, Verdes, Progresso, and San Pedro Pirates.
Striker Michael Salazar, who was the first Belizean player to play in Major League Soccer (for Montreal Impact and Houston Dynamo), is generally considered the country’s best player. However, he has not played for the national side in over a year due to contractual differences with the Football Federation, and it remains to be seen when or if he will return to the fold.
Regardless, The Jaguars possess a decent roster of talent, including strikers Krisean Lopez and Carlos Bernárdez, who plys his trade in the Honduran National League with C.D. Real Sociedad, free-scoring midfield Jordy Polanco and goalkeeper and captain Charles Tillett.
With a capacity for just 5,000 spectators, expect a snug and enclosed atmosphere at the FFB Stadium, where Belize are unbeaten in their last three matches.
Costa Rica Team News
After January’s 3-0 friendly defeat against the USA, this fixture marks the first competitive match in Miguel Herrera’s reign, and the experienced Mexican coach will be desperate for a maiden victory.
Despite the lesser opponent, the contest still poses a threat of being a proverbial “banana skin'” for Los Ticos, and Herrera must handle it professionally. Defeat in the two-legged showdown would mean Costa Rica would fail to qualify for its first CONCACAF Gold Cup since 1996, having reached all 14 editions of the tournament since.
Legendary goalkeeper Keylor Navas is not among those called up, despite the goalkeeper publicly expressing interest in returning to the national team, having previously retired from international duty last year. In addition, La Sele’s second all-time most capped player, forward Joel Campbell, is missing due to persistent back problems in recent months.
Other than that, El Piojo has a healthy group to pick from, and with this being his first squad that includes European-based players, he will be eager to see his first-choice starting 11 in action. Herrera favors a 5-3-2 formation, so with that in mind, here is a possible line-up for the match.
Possible Starting 11
Sequeira; Mitchell, Vargas, Calvo (C), Taylor, Aguilera, Galo, Lassiter; Alcocer, Ugalde, Martinez.
Head-to-Head History
The head-to-head record makes for good reading for La Sele, have won all six encounters between the two sides, with the first coming back in 1995 and the most recent in 2017. In fact, the overall aggregate score stands at 18-1 in Los Tico’s favor, including a 7-0 hammering back in 1999, which still stands as a record-heavy defeat for Belize.
That record is widely expected to continue in this tie, with The Jaguars currently placed a monumental 124 places behind Costa Rica at 178th spot in the FIFA Rankings.
Kick-off is tomorrow 21 March in Belmopan, Belize at 20:00 UTC−6
