Costa Rica and Nicaragua met in Panama’s Rommel Fernandez’ stadium in a match part of the Central American Soccer Cup (UNCAF). This game promised excitement due to the historical rivalry that the two countries have and the fact that the Nicaraguans are directed by a Costa Rican; yet, the match didn’t live up to the expectations, the teams delivered a boring show, and “La Sele” left a lot of frustrated fans, the final result was a tie (0-0)

Nicaragua’s head coach Henry Duarte had previously stated he was going to make changes in his lineup with the purpose of keeping some of his main figures healthy for the upcoming matches against Belice and Salvador, so key players such as Juan Barrera and Jaime Moreno sat during this game, even without these two important players, Nicaragua was able to keep the Costa Rican’s in check, although they didn’t present any real offensive danger.

Costa Rica’s male National Soccer Team missing most of its main figures was simply unrecognizable, missing structure and strategy. Head coach Oscar Ramirez stated in the press conference following the game: “My interest is to look at players, many asked for different players, and here they are. Training’s offer me a lot, it is our obligation to go out looking for the game, but Nicaragua did its job…the idea is to flourish, we need new kids for when we face injuries, or other things, this is like a test“.