The triumphant return of the National Men’s Football Team of Costa Rica, lovingly known to fans as “La Sele,” to the Chinese-donated National Stadium, was not exactly triumphant, but it established a streak of 13 matches without losing.

Both Costa Rica and Paraguay brought out the heavy artillery to the pitch. The starting lineup of La Sele was reminiscent of the national squad that played so masterfully in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the same lineup that surprised football fans around the world and elevated Costa Rica on the international stage. All the big names were there: Keylor Navas guarding the goal, Duarte on the backline, Tejeda in the midfield, Ruiz as the leading playmaker, Campbell as the explosive forward, and veteran Alvaro Saborío as the executioner.

It took La Sele an entire year to return home to a packed National Stadium, and the players arrived with 12 consecutive matches without losing, a streak that the visiting National Team from Paraguay was more than eager to break, at least during the first few minutes of the match. Just like La Sele, Paraguay stacked the lineup with talented players who normally play for professional clubs in CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and UEFA.

The match started with Paraguay deploying lots of attacking pressure, which allowed Keylor Navas an opportunity to show why he is a fan favorite at Real Madrid in Spain. However, once Borges, Campbell and Saborío began taking advantage of loose ball situations, the visiting team dialed back their offense and became a lot more careful.

Once Ruiz, Borges and Campbell warmed up, the Paraguayan defenders got a workout throughout the first half. The low point of the game was the talented Campbell erring on the side of individual skills; there were a couple of plays when he should have passed to open strikers instead of being stripped of the ball.

By the end of the first half, it was clear that Costa Rica was the superior team and Paraguay decided to park the bus early. The domination continued as the second half started; however, the visiting team defended more vigorously and physically as well. The match was stopped a couple of times due to injury time prompted by the rough defense by Paraguay.

Fresh substitutes Johan Venegas and Marco Ureña succeeded in making the match more animated with an injection of jogo bonito. By the 60-minute mark, the Paraguayan team had pretty much given up on attacking and focused solely on defense and marking with fouls to the point of getting tired.

In the end, La Sele got a workout and a standing ovation by their loving fans. The next international match for Costa Rica will be against Panama in late March.

Source: Deportes Columbia 98.7 FM