UPDATE: Read the full match report here.

The members of National Men’s Football Team of Costa Rica, affectionately known as La Sele, are preparing to welcome their counterparts from Paraguay at the Chinese-donated National Stadium in La Sabana Metropolitan Park. This week, players from La Sele who play abroad began arriving and training for their first international match of the year, which will mark their return to Costa Rica after a year of major success abroad.

According to a news report published by Radio Columbia 98.7 FM, team captain Bryan Ruiz is looking forward to playing in front of his fans in Costa Rica for the first time since the team left for the storied 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when La Sele shocked the world by beating former champions Uruguay and Italy before drawing a match against England, beating Greece, and exiting the Cup on a penalty kick shootout against The Netherlands.

All in all, La Sele has logged 12 consecutive matches without losing, a streak that they intend to carry on for as long as possible. The last time Paraguay and Costa Rica met was a little over a year ago at the National Stadium in San Jose; back then, La Sele won 2-1.

Costa Rica will play a different strategy than the ultra-defensive catenaccio perfected by former coach Jorge Luis Pinto. Under the leadership of Paulo Wanchope, La Sele is experimenting with ball handling, individual skills, jogo bonito, and headers. The match will start at 8:00 pm on Thursday, and Costa Rica is naturally a favorite, although some analysts are concerned that the less-defensive tactics preferred by Wanchope could prove to be a gamble as La Sele looks forward to the 2015 Gold Cup.