#26-Costa Rica

#26-Costa Rica
Nickname-Ticos
CONCACAF
FIFA Ranking-#34
Group G (Uruguay, Costa Rica, Italy, England)
Projected Results...
Loss to Uruguay
Loss to Italy
Loss to England
Manager- Jorge Luis Pinto
Qualified through 2nd place in CONCACAF Hexagonal
4th World Cup Appearance (1990, 2002, 2006)

After missing out in 2010, the Ticos are back for another stab at making noise in this World Cup.  This team could have been dangerous to make it through the group stages, but they were drawn into what I consider to be the "group of death" (hardest group in the tournament).  This team has a lot of experience in the team, but Uruguay, Italy, and England could be argued by many as three of the top ten teams in the world.  Costa Rica finished at an impressive 2nd place in their federation's qualifying campaign, but are victimized by this difficult group.  I don't see them even getting a draw against any of these teams (maybe England?), but they will not be blown out of the water.  Here will be some important players if the Ticos are to make some noise-

Key Players

Bryan Ruiz-Will play up front for the Ticos, and is the captain of the team.  Plays club for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, which is a very respectable resume to have when you're the captain.  He will need to cause havoc with his speed and skill, and will need to set up his teammates, and of course, score.

Joel Campbell-At only age 21, this guy is going to be very dangerous for the other teams in the group. Campbell is going to need to score some goals and help the Costa Ricans in keeping possession of the ball to give his defenders a break from running all over.  He plays for Olympiacos (on loan from Arsenal) in the Greek league, and showed why he's so dangerous here against Manchester United last month.

Junior Diaz-He will anchor the defense of the Costa Rican team.  The defense is the weak spot of this team, and he will need to be massive at the back end.  Diaz plays for Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga, so he has experience in one of the best leagues in the world.  At age 30, he has plenty experience.

The Ticos will be fun to watch this summer, but they won't advance out of this "group of death". Their forwards possess the quality of the other teams in the group, but the rest of the side is lacking. They'll excite, though.