Bryan Ruiz will take Costa Rica into its toughest test of the year without Keylor Navas. The veteran goalkeeper was left out of the 23-man squad Ruiz named Friday for friendlies against Ecuador and Argentina, his first matches since the federation confirmed him as permanent head coach.
Costa Rica plays Ecuador on Friday, Nov. 13, at the Estadio OlÃmpico Atahualpa in Quito, with kickoff at 6 p.m. Costa Rica time (7 p.m. ET). It then faces Argentina on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba. Ruiz said in television interviews last week that Navas has a minor problem in one knee that requires a medical procedure and about 10 days of rest. The coach said the Pumas UNAM goalkeeper had offered to join the squad anyway, but that his priority was for Navas to recover properly.
Without Navas, the job in goal falls to Patrick Sequeira of Portugal’s Casa Pia, Abraham Madriz of Saprissa and Bayron Mora of Alajuelense. Ruiz has said he wants to use the window to evaluate which goalkeepers he can count on for the World Cup cycle ahead. Two other players are out injured. Defender Jeyland Mitchell of France’s Strasbourg and striker Alonso MartÃnez of New York City FC were both ruled out with physical problems.
The headline return is Manfred Ugalde. The Spartak Moscow striker is back after serving a suspension and has scored 10 goals this season, six in the Russian league and four in the cup. Copenhagen defender Kenay Myrie also returns to the squad. The group leans heavily on the domestic league, with 16 locally based players and seven playing abroad. Alajuelense has eight players, more than any other club. The squad has an average age of 25.8, and nine players are under 23.
Argentina, runners-up at the 2026 World Cup, will be playing its first matches since Lionel Messi’s farewell from the national team on Oct. 6 against Benin. Coach Lionel Scaloni has named a 28-player squad and will face Uruguay at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires on Nov. 13 before hosting Costa Rica in Córdoba.
The Ecuador match brings its own challenge. Quito sits at roughly 2,850 meters (9,350 feet) above sea level, among the highest capitals in the world, and the match will be Ecuador’s first at the Atahualpa in more than nine years. The two teams have met 12 times, with Ecuador winning six and five ending in draws. Costa Rica’s only win came in their first meeting, in 1992. Ruiz took over as interim coach in late September after the federation fired Fernando Batista. He won both of his Nations League matches, beating Nicaragua 3-0 and Haiti 2-0, before being given the job permanently in October.
The squad begins training Monday, Nov. 9, and travels to Quito on Wednesday, Nov. 11, flying on to Córdoba the day after the Ecuador match. Four more players, Alberth Barahona of Saprissa, Claudio Montero and Geancarlo Castro of Cartaginés, and José Vega of San Carlos, will train with the group through Nov. 11 but are not part of the 23.
Goalkeepers: Abraham Madriz (Saprissa), Bayron Mora (Alajuelense), Patrick Sequeira (Casa Pia, Portugal).
Defenders: Aarón Salazar (Alajuelense), Alexis Gamboa (Alajuelense), Diego Mesén (Cartaginés), Francisco Calvo (Nacional, Uruguay), John Paul Ruiz (Alajuelense), Joseph Mora (Saprissa), Juan Pablo Vargas (Puebla, Mexico), Kenay Myrie (Copenhagen, Denmark), Yerlan Sosa (Alajuelense).
Midfielders: Andrey Soto (Saprissa), Celso Borges (Alajuelense), Douglas López (Cartaginés), Gabriel Leiva (Sporting), Gian Mauro Morera (Cartaginés), Roan Wilson (Alajuelense).
Forwards: Carlos Mora (Universitatea Craiova, Romania), Josimar Alcócer (Sparta Prague, Czech Republic), Josimar Méndez (Sporting), Kenyel Michel (Alajuelense), Manfred Ugalde (Spartak Moscow, Russia).
Both matches will be Ruiz’s first against South American opposition as Costa Rica’s coach, and the trip to Córdoba gives his young squad a measure of how far it has to go.
