Costa Rica, again in a difficult group in the World Cup 0:50
(CNN Spanish) --
Costa Rica, which qualified for the third consecutive time to a World Cup, will face Spain and Germany in Group E, two of the possible favorites to reach the final stages of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, and also to Japan, one of the strongest Asians.
In Qatar 2022, its sixth World Cup, the Costa Rican team once again finds itself with a complicated panorama due to the group it will have to face.
Although it could be said that he is the weakest rival, his participation could surprise especially after he reached the quarterfinals in Brazil 2014 after overcoming a very difficult group in which three world champions (England, Italy and Uruguay) competed, a feat that earned him the respect of the football world and the nickname "giant killer".
Costa Rica qualifies for the 2022 Qatar World Cup: it beat New Zealand in a playoff.
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Costa Rica was the winner in playoffs against New Zealand, which gave them the pass to a World Cup for the third time in a row, which they celebrated in style on the pitch.
The team led by the Colombian Luis Fernando Suárez has in Keylor Navas a benchmark and a leader, but the team reaches the World Cup with low goalscoring production in the qualifiers.
Costa Rica is currently ranked 31st in the FIFA ranking, below teams that did not qualify, such as Chile, Peru and Colombia.
Here is a review of the first rivals of the Costa Rican team, the dates and times of the matches of what is perhaps the group of death in Qatar 2022.
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Costa Rica's first rivals
1 of 10
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Ticos celebrate in front of fans after defeating New Zealand in the 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff match at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on June 14, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.
(Joe Allison/Getty Images)
2 of 10
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The Costa Rican team won the last spot that remained to be defined for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which starts in November.
Joyful Costa Rican players take to the pitch at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha on June 14, 2022. (Joe Allison/Getty Images)
3 out of 10
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Joel Campbell, Rayados de Monterrey player and team idol, scored the winning goal after 3 minutes of play.
(Joe Allison/Getty Images)
4 out of 10
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The team led by the Colombian Luis Fernando Suárez has in Keylor Navas a benchmark and a leader but he reaches the World Cup with a low goalscoring production in the qualifiers.
Navas celebrated the victory like this from the pitch.
(Mohamed Farag/Getty Images)
5 out of 10
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Costa Rica defender Bryan Oviedo reacted with tears to his team's victory.
(KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)
6 out of 10
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Yeltsin Tejeda of Costa Rica celebrates after defeating New Zealand in the repechage match at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on June 14, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.
(Joe Allison/Getty Images)
7 out of 10
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Costa Rica fans celebrated their team's victory and qualification for Qatar 2022. This is the sixth time that the Costa Ricans have qualified for the World Cup.
(Mohamed Farag/Getty Images)
8 out of 10
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Costa Rica will play in Group E along with Spain, Germany and Japan, in what is perhaps the group of death in the World Cup.
(Joe Allison/Getty Images)
9 out of 10
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The Costa Ricans were overjoyed after defeating New Zealand 1-0 in the playoffs.
Costa Rica is the fourth classified for the Qatar 2022 Concacaf World Cup.
(KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)
10 out of 10
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Costa Rica is currently ranked 31st in the FIFA ranking, below teams that did not qualify, such as Chile, Peru and Colombia.
New Zealand, meanwhile, is ranked 101st. (Joe Allison/Getty Images)
Costa Rica will face Spain in its first match, one of the strongest rivals it will face in the group stage.
La Roja arrives at the World Cup with young players and after a good tie: they won 6 games, drew one and suffered a defeat.
Spain is seventh in the FIFA ranking and favorite to win the World Cup.
In the 2021 Euro Cup they were a semifinalist after being eliminated by Italy, which was champion.
The Costa Rican team will face Japan in their second game, one of the most solid Asian countries, which qualified for Qatar 2022 after beating Australia (2-0).
This is the seventh consecutive World Cup in which the Japanese team has participated.
Their last game of the group stage will be played against Germany, a four-time world champion rival.
The German team is always one of the favorites to win the soccer World Cups, it is 11th in the FIFA ranking (behind Italy —sixth place—, which this year failed to qualify) and its most recent World Cup was won in Brazil 2014. In the Eurocup that was played in 2021, Germany was eliminated by England in the round of 16.
However, they have only lost one of their last 40 World Cup qualifying matches: in March 2021 against North Macedonia (1-2), according to FIFA.
Dates and times of Costa Rica's matches in the group stage
Spain - Costa Rica
Wednesday, November 23
11:00 am (Miami time)
10:00 am (CDMX and San José time)
1:00 pm (Buenos Aires time)
Japan - Costa Rica
Sunday November 27
5:00 am (Miami time)
4:00 am (CDMX and San José time)
7:00 am (Buenos Aires time)
Costa Rica - Germany
Thursday December 1
5:00 am (Miami time)
4:00 am (CDMX and San José time)
7:00 am (Buenos Aires time)
With information from Elizabet Pérez and Enrique Marqués
Costa Rican National Team