The choice of Costa Rica beat a young squad from this Wednesday 2-0 Nigeriain a friendly match that served for the Central American team to say goodbye to their fans before starting their journey to Qatar World Cup 2022.
With goals from defenders Óscar Duarte and Kendall Waston, the Costa Rican team did their duty in front of 35,000 fans who filled the San José National Stadium on a night with a party atmosphere in the stands.
The coach of Costa Rica, the Colombian Luis Fernando Suárez, mixed young players with veterans, and regular stars with substitutes, to face a game that served to see the options and fine- tune in details for the World Cup.
In the absence of players playing in Europe and other foreign leagues due to the fact that this Wednesday is not an official FIFA date for friendlies, Suárez stopped a solid team in defense and led in attack a Joel Campbell who always pays to the maximum and that he played 90 minutes.
After a tense first minute for Nigeria in which they pressed for the exit, Costa Rica found the first goal in the 7th minute on a set piece play that defender Óscar Duarte finished off with delight, without scoring, in small place
Veteran Bryan Ruiz tried to team up with Joel Campbell, but the most dangerous plays came on the wings of young attackers Álvaro Zamora and Anthony Hernández, without posing much of a threat to Nigerian goalkeeper Kayode Bankole .
Ohaka, headaches for the people there
Nigeria based their attack on the pace of right-back Dominion Ohaka, who gave the Costa Rican team a headache and came close to leveling the score with a shot from outside the area.
In the second half, Costa Rica took more control of the actions, avoided the fast attacks of Africa and approached the rival goal more clearly. In the 73rd minute, lanky defender Kendall Waston made it 2-0 with a header, having missed two similar chances before.
Joel Campbell continued to show that he was Costa Rica’s most important player in attack and created at least two more dangerous plays, while striker Johan Venegas wasted a clear against the Nigerian goalkeeper.
Before the start of this match, the president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, swore in the team that will travel on Thursday to Kuwait, where it will concentrate for a week before moving on to the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
On November 17, Costa Rica will hold a final rehearsal before the World Cup against Iraq, as a guest.
Costa Rica will make their World Cup debut on November 23 against Spain, then face Japan on the 27th and close the group stage on December 1 against Germany.
DATA SHEET
2 – Costa Rica: Esteban Alvarado, Carlos Martínez, Óscar Duarte (Kendall Waston, m.46), Daniel Chacón, Bryan Oviedo; Douglas López (Youstin Salas, m.77), Roan Wilson (Celso Borges, m.64), Bryan Ruiz (Brandon Aguilera, m.64); Anthony Hernández (Keysher Fuller, m.60), Álvaro Zamora (Johan Venegas, m.77) and Joel Campbell
Coach: Luis Fernando Suarez
0-Nigeria: Kayode Bankole (Nathaniel Nwosu, m.76), Daniel Bayami, Dominion Ohaka, Isaiah Ejeh, Evans Ogbonda; Samson Paul (Jerry Alex, m.59), Qudus Akanni (Suleiman Garba, m.59), Chidibere Nwobodo, Afeez Nosiru; Daniel Wotlai, Evans Ogbonda (Linggo Faleye, d.59) and Edidiog Ezekiel (Samuel Kalu, d.59)
Instructor: Salisu Yusuf
Referee: the Mexican Fernando Hernandez. He advised Nigerians Bayami and Ejeh; and the Costa Rican Fuller
The objectives: 1-0, Duarte (m. 7); 2-0, Washington (d. 73)
Incidents: The Friendly match was played at the San José National Stadium in front of 35,000 fans
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
