Costa Rican national team member Óscar Duarte has agreed to a four-year deal with Espanyol, a club in Spain's top division. The defender is expected to start right away as his new team takes on Keylor Navas' Real Madrid on Sunday.
Expectations will be sky-high for Costa Rica at this week's Central America Cup -- even though the team only will carry a handful of players from its history-making World Cup squad. Fortunately for the Ticos, they will open the tournament against the worst team in the region.
The Nicaragua-born member of Costa Rica's national team has been on a victory tour in his birth country after the Ticos' historic World Cup run. And on Monday he received a tribute from the country's president. He provided Ortega with his #6 La Sele uniform, which was signed by all the players on the Costa Rican squad.
Catarina, the birthplace of La Sele defender Óscar Duarte, the first Nicaraguan to score a World Cup goal, overflowed with fans receiving its most famous son last week.
