According to sources from the technical commission of La Sele, as they call their national soccer team here, the players will not reconnoiter the ground of the Cuscatlán Stadium, in San Salvador, the scene of the challenge, the penultimate of the Concacaf Octagonal final , qualifying for the World Cup.
Thanks to the 1-0 win over Canada this Thursday at the capital’s Estadio Nacional, Costa Rica is in fourth place among the eight teams.
The final Octagonal of the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean Football (Concacaf) grants three direct tickets to the World Cup and the possibility of a playoff for fourth place.
Speaking to the press shortly before leaving, Costa Rica’s coach, Colombian Luis Fernando Suárez, stated that soccer is not only played with the feet and the ball, it is played more with the head.
When one represents a country, the games are emotional, we are living, since the tie began, great stress and we have known how to handle it, he specified.
Suárez hopes that the group continues to have the mental strength, the courage that he has shown throughout the tournament and to be competitive during the 90 minutes. «It seems to me that it is a group that is very united in a single objective, which is to qualify. The game is going to be very emotional, “said the Colombian coach.
Although El Salvador has no chance of qualifying or going to the playoffs for Qatar 2022, both Suárez and Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz agreed that they cannot be confident, let alone relax.
Even Ruiz called it the toughest match of the tie so far. “Playing against a team that has been eliminated is more complicated, because they are going to play freely, the bitter pill has already passed and what they want is to win the game”, he commented.
“We are happy for what we have done so far, with our feet on the ground, but knowing that this is the most important and the most difficult game. They have achieved in this tie, less than they have deserved, “Ruiz said.
If they win tomorrow, Costa Rica will guarantee to be in the playoff for Qatar 2022 and, depending on the result between the United States and Panama, could seek a direct ticket to the first Arab country to host a World Cup on the last date of the Octagonal final of the Concacaf, when they face the US team at home.
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