At the Moncton Stadium of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, the National Women’s Football Team of Costa Rica (Las Ticas) fell against the “canarinha” (canary yellow) of Brazil by a single goal, thus ending their dreams of staying in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Brazilian coach arrived in Moncton with little to worry about. Along with the United States, the canarinha has thus far been one of the dominating teams of the World Cup, and the Brazilian players had already advanced to the second, knockoff round of the Cup. As such, the team from Brazil decided to give the stellar striker Marta, one of the best football players in the world, a much-deserved break.

Marta’s absence from the pitch gave Costa Rica some breathing room, but not too much. The Brazilian midfielders and strikers took turns testing goalkeeper Dinnia Diaz, who once again proved why she is the favorite player of many fans in Costa Rica. During the first half, Dinnia Diaz flew on more than one occasion to stop what looked like emphatic goals.

The second half was very similar to the first: Las Ticas mostly parked the bus and looked for counterattack opportunities, which tested Brazilian goalkeeper Luciana a couple of times. As a Cinderella team playing in a “group of death,” Costa Rica had high hopes of advancing to the knockoff round in their first-ever World Cup; however, only a victory against Brazil would have guaranteed their passage. To this effect, Las Ticas tried to balance an all-out defense with sporadic attacks. A loss would have taken away their hopes, and a draw would have left them biting their nails and waiting for the result of the match between Spain and South Korea.

In the end, Costa Rica defended very well but not enough to secure the second place of Group E. A single goal by canarinha Raquel sealed their fate and brought many tears on the pitch. Coach Amelia Valverde reminded fans that this World Cup is only the beginning for Las Ticas.