The National Men’s Football Team of Costa Rica, affectionately known as La Sele, has not won a single friendly match intended as preparation for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which will be hosted in the United States and Canada in the next few days.

The final preparation match for Costa Rica was against Mexico; it took place in the football-crazed city of Orlando in Florida, and it left some doubts among football analysts about the ability of La Sele to win the Gold Cup. The final score of 2 – 2 started with an impeccable first half by Costa Rica and ended with a surprise two-goal rally by Mexico.

As far as preparation matches go, yesterday’s encounter was a likely preview of what the Gold Cup final might be; after all, Mexico and Costa Rica are currently considered to be powerhouse teams of CONCACAF. Due to the National Team’s amazing Cinderella run in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Costa Rica happens to be a favorite to win this tournament; however, recent losses against Spain and Colombia, plus the shaky draw against Mexico yesterday, are creating doubts.

The first half of the match was an incredible display of individual football skills by La Sele, which stunned the Mexican team. Star striker Joel Campbell was crucial in this regard; both goals by Costa Rica were created thanks to his explosive ability on the pitch. Mexico was no offensive slouch: during the first half, the Mexican players were able to test goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado, who has more than proven that he is comfortable guarding the goalposts in light of Keylor Navas‘ injury.

One of the major concerns by football analysts is that La Sele has not been able to display the strong defense formulated by former coach Jorge Luis Pinto during the World Cup. There are some vestiges of the five-player catenaccio defense coming back, but Mexico was not about to fall for the offside trap. What the Mexican team was able to do, however, was to capitalize on defensive mistakes.

Costa Rica parked the bus only after Mexico tied the score. La Sele took very few risks and was only able to test the Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa a couple of times towards the end of the match. Not everything was negative; the return of Michael Umaña solidified the back line, and Johan Venegas is the kind of opportunistic goal hound that fans tend to adore. In the end, however, doubts remain about La Sele’s fate in the Gold Cup