Costa Rica World Cup Soccer Profile

Ticos stay on target(excerpt from fifaworldcup.yahoo.com)

The rising stars of the North, Central American and Caribbean Zone, Costa Rica are now without question one of the most feared teams in the region. This reputation was confirmed in 2002 when the Ticos not only finished top of the final continental qualifying group - by a full six points after suffering only one loss in 10 matches - but also became the first nation ever to defeat Mexico at home in a FIFA World Cup qualifier.
This momentum led them with high hopes into the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan where they performed admirably, beating China and drawing eventual semi-finalists Turkey before falling to a rampant Brazil 2-5 in one of the most enthralling matches of the finals. They went no further than the group stage thanks only to goal difference, but there was no questioning their top-notch skills or attacking verve.

This capable result was not enough for demanding coach Alexander Guimaraes, who left after the finals and was eventually replaced by former U.S. coach Steve Sampson –though his tenure was not to last long.
The Ticos also had a storied, if short, FIFA World Cup history even before the turn of the new millennium. Their only other appearance at the finals was in 1990 where they beat Scotland, lost to Brazil, and then came from behind to defeat Sweden on Hernan Medford's dramatic late strike. This sent them into the Round of 16, where the Central Americans were brushed aside 4-1 by Czechoslovakia, but not before a nation's football optimism was rightly roused.

Qualifying for Germany 2006 has gone according to plan, though not altogether smoothly for Costa Rica. Steve Sampson was sacked as coach in June of 2004 after some stunningly bad results to start off the campaign, and Jorge Luis Pinto has only just managed to right the ship. After losing their first two qualifiers in the semi-final round to Honduras and Guatemala, the Ticos rebounded to actually finish top of Group 2.
They will hope to be more consistent in the final hexagonal group -- where they are expected to claim one of the three automatic trips to Germany 2006.