FORTALEZA // Two Costa Rica goals in the space of three minutes dealt Uruguay a surprise defeat in the opening match of Group D. The South Americans, semi-finalists in 2010, won the World Cup the last time it was held in Brazil 64 years ago, yet they lost here 3-1, were outplayed for much of the second half and lost Maximiliano Pereira to a red card in the dying seconds.
Uruguay, playing without the rested Luis Suarez, had taken the lead through Paris Saint Germain forward Edinson Cavani, who converted a penalty after Diego Lugano was hauled down. But Arsenal’s Joel Campbell levelled 10 minutes into the second half and Oscar Duarte of Club Brugge headed home three minutes later. Marco Urena added a deserved third six minutes from time.
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“We are very happy,” Jorge Luis Pinto, the Costa Rica coach, said. “They key was the players remained balanced and did not panic. It was a difficult match and of course, when you are 1-0 behind, teams can become disheartened, but that is something you can affect at half-time. We were abel to change things. We maintained our plans, kept calm and created our own opportunities. We won, but that is not all. The team showed spirit, and their response was excellent.”
Eduardo Li Sanchez, president of the Costa Rican football association, had warned his players before the game that “each match we play will be life threatening” and Los Ticos showed fight, throwing themselves into tackles and harrying their opponents. Such a hard-nosed style served them well in Concacaf qualifying as they finished second, ahead of Honduras and Mexico. Yesterday though, it almost proved their downfall.
A two-footed lunge by Yeltsin Tejeda saw Uruguay awarded a free-kick on the left and, as Diego Forlan delivered, Lugano was wrestled to the ground by Junior Diaz, the only player in the Costa Rica squad to regularly play in one of Europe’s big five leagues. Cavani converted the spot-kick emphatically to give his side a 22nd minute lead.
Costa Rica were looking to exact revenge on the side that beat them in a continental play-off for a World Cup slot four years ago. Yet in a scrappy first half they lacked quality, rarely threatening and being reduced to long range shots. Uruguay’s Diego Godin had slotted home from an offside position shortly before the opening goal and Forlan almost doubled his side’s lead just before the break when his tame shot hit Duarte and looped over Keylor Navas. The goalkeeper scrambled back to athletically tip over.
“In the second half, they took over in tactical terms and controlled the match,” Tabarez said. “We don’t care about whether we were favourites or not, because the essence takes place on the field of play. This really depends on the mentality of the team and tonight Costa Rica were better in the second half.”
Costa Rica started the second period full of energy, enjoying a lot of the ball on the flanks and exposing Uruguay’s aging back-line. Christian Bolanos pushed further up on the left and it took just 10 minutes before the switch in tempo paid off. Cristian Gamboa chased a seemingly lost cause down the right and managed to fire a cross in. It was cleared only as far as Campbell, who took a touch and fired powerfully past Fernando Muslera.
One hundred and 80 seconds later and Tico Time was in full flow. A diagonal free-kick was met at the back post by a diving Duarte header that sneaked inside the far corner to send the red-half of the crowd into rapture. Suarez, sat on the bench and having slipped on his boots, put his head in his hands. He would not be risked.
“Suarez is no longer hurt because he wouldn’t have been on the bench if he was,” Tabarez added. “For us, he is a fundamental player, important and with great potential and it was his demand to be on the bench. But he had a serious operation, therefore you need to have certainties and we had lingering doubts in terms of his fitness.”
Costa Rica continued to push forward, showing the pace that Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez had feared. With six minutes remaining, substitute Urena ran on to a slide-rule pass to slot past the onrushing Fernando Muslera and secure a memorable victory for Los Ticos. For Uruguay, they will hope this is the nadir of their 2014 campaign. Otherwise a repeat of 1950 is impossible.
Man of the match: Joel Campbell
The only Cost Rican player who turned up in the first half, it was the lone striker’s goal early in the second half that sparked Los Ticos to life. A constance nuisance in the second period, his energy and pace refused Uruguay to push too far upfield. Fouled for Pereira’s sending off while killing time in the corner.
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