Costa Rica
Group : D with Italy, Uruguay and England 
Current Fifa Ranking : 31st with 741 points
World Cup Appearances : 1990, 2002 and 2006
Best Achievement : round of 16 in 1990
Head Coach : Jorge Luis Pinto
Captain : Bryan Ruiz
The Costa Ricans have had an interesting qualifying campaign as they ended up as runners up in their group, winning all of their home matches whilst conceding the least amount of goals than any other team. Head Coach Jorge Luis Pinto has focused on constructing a side with regular players and avoids regular squad tinkering.
The group of death is one every team wants to avoid, especially if you’re tagged as the group’s minnows. Four time champions Italy are always a stern test for any country in the tournament and Luis Suarez’ current form explains why Uruguay are an equally dangerous side. England had a shaky qualifying campaign yet possess several top players which could harm any squad. Getting out of this alive will be a very tough task for Los Ticos.
Fulham’s Bryan Ruiz is instrumental for the side, as he is very effective at being a team captain and leading his compatriots on the field of play. In goal, Levante’s Keylor Navas’ form continues to impress and has kept a clean sheet in half of all qualification matches. Club Brugge’s Oscar Duarte is a key man in defence whilst Olympiacos’ Joel Campbell is also an asset in attack.
Preferring to press opposition and being defensively astute, Los Ticos are a very solid side but will need help from their midfielders and strikers to spark chances to life. They proceeded to have their best tournament ever in 1990 by winning their first group match, which is what the Costa Ricans should be aiming for in order to retain any hope of progressing past the group stages.
