The goalkeeper Keylor Navas announced this Thursday his retirement from the national team Costa Rica after playing more than 100 international matches and three World Cups, and thanked his teammates and fans for the support they gave him during his career. “It is a bittersweet feeling, difficult to assimilate. This stage of my life with the national team has come to an end,” said the former Real Madrid and PSG goalkeeper in a video published on his social networks.
Navas, 37, retires from the Costa Rica national team a few days before the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the Copa América. “This chapter of my life, full of challenges, defeats and victories, comes to an end. I leave with a heart full of gratitude and with my eyes looking forward, always carrying the name of our beloved Costa Rica, a small country of territory, but big at heart,” he said.
The goalkeeper, winner of 3 Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and who has just finished his contract with the French PSG, said that he has fulfilled many dreams that he had since he was a child and that he has achieved it by “persevering, fighting with love and determination.” “More than 16 years ago, God gave me the opportunity to defend the Costa Rica goal for the first time, a day that I will never forget. Since then, every moment with the national team has been a dream come true,” said Navas.
The goalkeeper, considered by many to be the best footballer in the history of Costa Rica, played in the 2014 Brazil, 2018 Russia and Qatar 2022 World Cups, and during his career he accumulated 114 games with the national team. Navas was a key piece for Costa Rica to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, a tournament in which the team went first in the group after beating Italy (1-0), Uruguay (3-1 ) and draw goalless with England.
In March he already hinted at his possible departure
In the round of 16, Costa Rica tied 1-1 with Greece but advanced on penalties to the quarterfinals where they faced the Netherlands, against whom they lost on penalties after drawing 0-0 in a great day for Navas. “I feel incredibly lucky and privileged,” said the goalkeeper before thanking all his coaches, teammates, his family and the fans.
Navas assured that he takes with him “unforgettable joys and memories” and stressed that the team managed to “elevate the name of Costa Rica to the highest” in front of “the best players in the world.” Last March, after the FIFA matchday matches that month, the goalkeeper left his future with the national team up in the air, as he did not answer journalists’ questions about his continuity with the national team.
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The footballer, whose next club for next season is still unknown, was in the plans of the Costa Rica coach, the Argentine Gustavo Alfaro, for the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifier and for the Copa América next month. “We are counting on him and we hope that he can arrive in the country after completing his commitments with Paris. He has two league games left and the Cup final. For us it is essential that he can accompany us in the qualifying matches and in the Copa América,” declared on May 13 the sports director of the Costa Rican Football Federation, Claudio Vivas.
