GROUP C PREVIEW

GROUP C - "The Cauldron of Initiation”

Overview: At least two teams from Group C are very likely to become memorable surprise teams in this tournament. The priority candidates are hyper-talented Colombia, even if Falcao is missing, and carefully put-together Japan.

Seeing Vidal as a tourist against Australia yesterday makes me think that Colombia might actually be better off without superstar Falcao if he is not fit. Three excellent centre forwards will compete to fill his role without a real quality drop, and young speed-demon Carlos Carbonero of River Plate gets to strengthen the bench instead.

Japan are, as I indicated in my detailed preview, a work of art, capable of dominating and winning matches against even good opposition this time around. We are talking about two golden generations in two very different countries at the top of their game, all the more reason to expect “the unexpected.”

However, Greece are a new team and are not by far the worst team in the tournament, their expertise at taking one or three points and sliding through is still very much something to be feared by anyone. Their start striker, Olympiakos, Champions League and Fulham performer, the goatbearded terminator, Kostas Mitroglou needs only one or two chances to score, and their defence is very capable as tradition dictates.

Ivory Coast are a talented team, but their top stars are too old (Drogba) or exhausted from superb club seasons (Yaya Toure) and its up to the youngster generation to step up and drive the team bus. If some of their talent plays well, and doesn’t pull a Cameroon, anything could happen in Group C.

Although logic and merit dictates Colombia and Japan, with Ivory Coast to challenge for second and Greece last, if the table is exactly opposite to this in three matchdays it will not be a shock, but rather a single lucky roll of the dice.

The Big Questions:

Speed and technique (Colombia), discipline and craft (Japan), determination and strength (Greece), or power and inertia (Ivory Coast)?

Is it unfair to write off Ivory Coast as has-beens?

How slippery are Greece?

Teams: (click on team for links to my or other previews)

COLOMBIA – “Los Cafeteros”

(Neighbours say the coffee is white and taken without water in it)

Strengths: Bags of ability in all elven positions on the pitch, a real silent contender in terms of quality, a phenomenal, experienced coach, the element of surprise and no small surprise at that. Speed and strength, goals, technique, difficult to attack and play possession against.

Weakness: World class striker is out, others might not have the confidence even if they have the class, some real ancient dinosaurs start towards the back of the team, discipline and nerves could shatter under pressure.

Likely formation: 4222 – the formation that is traditionally Brazillian and was coined in Brazil, and gives a good distribution and fluidity between offense and defence. A minimum of four players find themselves in any area of the pitch at one time, and usually at least 6 in defence.

Coach: 10

José Pékerman

An underappreciated great, who made Argentina the power that it is together with Marcelo Bielsa, he was unlucky when heading Argentina team at the German World Cup, but his team put on some exhilarated performances there (like against Yugoslavia). Be surprised by nothing that Pekerman’s teams achieve.

GK: 8.5

DEF: 8.5

MID: 9.0

ATT: 9.0 – even with Falcao missing

The star: One of the best right wing players in the world game, but still to get recognition for it outside of Italy where he is largely responsible for Fiorentina’s top season. Juan Guillermo Cuadrado is a real creator and ace, and a top club is very likely to swoop in for this complete player this summer.

Pace, dribble, ship container of tricks, thundering shot, neat finishing, agility.

The defender: Cristián Zapata is very valued in Italy after great work at Udinese and decent performances for Milan, he is at his best for Colombia though. Wingbacks Armero and Zuniga are world class for their national team.

Technical, fast, strong, determined, a big game 90-minute player, a bit shaken on confidence perhaps.

The midfielder: Fredy Guarín is the midfield general of Colombia. The interman launches counterattacks and keeps the team’s tempo full-throttle.

Decisive, orchestrating, long-range shooting, focused.

The attacker: Teófilo Gutiérrez is largely unknown in Europe, but has a tremendous respect in Argentina where he has significant success in club football. This fast offsides-breaker and finisher can be a real wild card for Colombia against any high defensive line. He will play wide of target men Jackson Martinez, Bacca or Ramos.

The captain: Mario Yepes is a veteran granite rock in defence, his lack of speed is made up for by his leadership and phenomenal sense of position. He is a coach on the field to his colleagues.

The prospect:

James Rodriguez is 22 and has 5 goals in 22 games for Colombia from midfield. Falcao’s Monaco colleague, his surging midfield play and eye for scoring and creating are likely to make him a name at this World Cup.

Juan Fernando Quintero, 21, is heavily compared to Pirlo, and his passing, free kicks and game-winning ability are ranking him really highly as one of World Football’s major prospects.

Long shot, ingenuity, unpredictable, crafty, still needs to learn to impose himself for 90 minutes, can appear slow at times.

GREECE – “Ethniki Galanolefki"

(Translation: be always dramatic, kick them in the knee, and score goals with your bum cheeks)

Strengths: Some technical players, and a lot of brute force and good defensive qualities. New players yet same old for the Greeks, well not all new players, 6 are over 30, and the emblematic Karagounis and Kastouranis are still there full of life and drama. There is new talent that blends in well. Underrated, even by me. 5 of Greece’s last 8 wins were 1-0. The wingbacks work real wonders on the counterattack now.

This team is very well integrated and very well trained.

Weaknesses: Limited game plan, Greeks control games in defensive shells, but find it hard to adapt to tactically skilled teams. Lack of high-quality squad depth. A bit thin in the goalkeeping department. Some of the key players had very injury-hit seasons and little playing time, and there are new draftees especially in goal.

Many key players were a bit old for the strain of a World Cup five years ago already.

Likely formation: 451 defensive is standard and classic, but under Santos the defence has gotten tighter than under Rehagel and the goals more frequent. Could deploy 541 against bigger teams.

Coach: 7.6

Fernando Santos

The old Portuguese melchancholic grump has improved on Rehagel’s team to some respect, but the extremely defensive antics are also what limits the team. So far they find it very hard to chase an opponent’s lead, and their entire strategy comes on leaving no space and counterattacking.

GK: 7.1

DEF: 9.2 – even when not playing defensive, they are great defenders

MID: 7.4 – better than past midfields, Greece can actually play possession now if needed

ATT: 8.2 - 53 national team goals among 4 players

The star: who else would have a defender as a star? Dortmund’s Sokratis Papastathopoulos is now the heart of the Greek team, and it’s his grit and determination that have given the Ethnikos so many clean sheets in recent years.

Tackle, determination, positioning, experience, teamwork.

The defender: They are all top class, but the highly underrated player is Roma’s Vasilis Torosidis who can play in a number of positions very well, but plays best on either side as a full back.

Deep crossing, power, speed, tackle, work, experience, highly underrated and forgotten despite significant class.

The midfielder: Panagiotis Kone is a workhorse for Bologna, and plays with passion and determination, although some would say he is better without a ball than with one. He is an attacking midfield with a major defensive contribution level, perfect for the Italian game. Despite all this his team suffered relegation from Serie A this year.

Determined, hardworking, big-game player, long-range shooter, lack of top technique.

The attacker: Kostas Mitroglou was supposed to save Fulham from relegation after thundering in many goals for Olympiakos in the Champions League, but he opted to get injured instead. On the day he is probably the best striker Greece has ever had, and his style is best described as “Heavy Tank.” But his form for this cup remains a mystery. 89 goals in 195 clubs games, including 17 in 19 for Olympiacos this season.

Strength, perfect finishing with foot, bum, or head. Impossible to mark, wins duels with anyone, bulldozer, coming back from long term injury, no match fitness.

The captain: Giorgos Karagounis, only 10 goals in 135 games is a surprising statistics, given that many of his goals came in key games when the world was watching. He is the emblematic, explosively joyous drama queen that puts the fire in the Greek belly.

Long-range shot, passion, tackle, game-winning, legendary determination.

The prospects:

Ioannis Fetfatzidis has a heck of dribble, and bags of pace. All 164 cm of him play for Genoa in Serie A, and although he doesn’t score goals he is key to Greece’s counterattacks.

Panagiotis Tachtsidis is in the squad, but he is the future of the Greek defensive midfield. That disciplined anti-football and counterattack job is becoming his profession now.

IVORY COAST – “Les Éléphants” – French for the dinosaurs

Strengths: Yaya Toure, who has had a Ballon D’Or season with Manchester City. A lot of class, despite the aging stars. Power, technique, counter, goal-scoring, the hurrah after the last hurrah. Talented youth that could step up.

The new generation could come into their own with obvious potential.

Weaknesses: past their peak, same untalented-but-determined goalkeeper, failure at the last African Nations (again), accustomed to losing now, Drogba too old, Kolo Toure too old, Zokora too old.

Gap between inexperienced youth and burned out grandfathers.

Likely formation: an attacking 4-3-3 with very active fullbacks, should be changed for Greece match, 4-2-3-1 possession the alternative for bigger opponents.

Coach: 8.0

Sabri Lamouchi

I am impressed with what France ’98 stalwart Lamouchi has done so far, although I think keeping the old-boys is part of his contract. He is improving the play of young players, and dipping widely into the Ivorean talen in Belgium, Germany and France. I believe firmly that Lamouchi is capable of leading Ivory Coast out of this group, but the odds are against them.

GK: 7.3 – passion and determination and experience makes this score higher, the Ivoreans trust their goalkeeper.

DEF: 7.7 – this could be the source of their problem

MID: 8.9 – Yaya Toure is tired, Cheik Tiote had a bad season

ATT: 8.5 its actually down to Bony and Gervinho, Drogba still starts.

The star: Yaya Touré, not a battleship, not a carrier, but a whole fleet of spaceships is still an inadequate metaphore. His performances for Manchester City this season clinched them the title, but this could also mean the physical and psychological fatigue could be obvious.

Power dynamo, nuclear reactor, thundering goal scorer, unstoppable dribbler, powerful battlestation, incredible inertia, maximum fatigue, ongoing controversy of words with Manchester City and background transfer-saga.

The defender: Kolo Touré had a bad season with Liverpool, and since his suspension for dopping has not ever real come back to his former level.

Experienced, debugger, strong, slower, inconfident, prone-to-own-goals-this-season.

The midfielder: Max Gradel might not have lived up to his big move, or hyped potential (yet). He is still important with successful Saint-Etienne in France, and he is still tricky and all the more efficient.

Dribbler, assister, flair player, poor finisher.

The attackers: Gervinho and Wilfred Bony both.

Gervinho’s good Roma form could be influential on this cup, and he has gotten better at scoring. Spead, dribble, and now efficiency.

Bony’s brilliant touches and good finishing have been the highlight of Swansea’s season, and his price tag for bigger clubs is set at something close to 30 million pounds. 16 goals in twice as many games for the struggling Premiership team. First touch and finishing.

The captain: Didier Drogba has failed to perform for Ivory Coast at both of the last two nations cups, and it’s beyond me why he is still Captain or even selected. He might still do well for European clubs in big games, but he is a shadow of his former Chelsea self now. Off course it is Didier Drogba I am talking about, and he could prove me wrong.

A great, tired, slow, weaker, overconfident, takes place in starting lineup, misses key opportunities and penalties.

The prospects:

Oslo-born midfielder Mathis Bolly is considered by many experts as one of the 5 fastest runners in the game of football. The 21-year-old often plays of the bench in 2.Bundesliga, but his ability is obvious, if not his consistency and knowledge how to use his massive talent. He could still prove decisive if used right as an attacking midfielder to refresh the dinosaurs.

Right-back Serge Aurier has been so impressive that he is set to replace Sagna at Arsenal this summer. He wouldn’t be a drop in class, and even perhaps a step up, and a good signing for Wenger he would make. Likely started for Ivory Coast.

JAPAN – "the Samurai Blue"

Strengths: A great system, great squad cohesion, real world class players in attack. Tactical discipline, and great preparation. Good form, and great desire to impress. Great midfield, attack, goalkeeper and wingbacks. Goal and game control.

Creative.

Weaknesses: An imperfect central defence needing the whole team to work to protect them. Still a lack of strength and height against teams like Greece and Ivory Coast.

Weak in the air or against Greek tanks or Ivorean dinosaurs.

Likely formation: a fluid 4231 trained to perfection.

Coach: 8.8

Alberto Zaccheroni (ITA)

Innovator who led both the 3-4-3 and 4-2-3-1 revolution. He has worked hard and long in improving Japan and this is his artistic exhibition.

GK: 8.2

DEF: 7.2 central 8.5 flank

MID: 8.8

ATT: 7.8

The star: Keisuke Honda, although he didn’t settle in at troubled Milan under Seedorf. Nevertheless, the very talented player will be looking to find his form and be instrumental for Japan as he was in South Africa and throughout the qualifiers.

He is a bit of an old fashioned magician, and he started his career as a right winger with VVV Venlo in Holland. At 27 he already has 20 goals in 53 caps, a good number from free kicks.

Goal, surprise, flair, focus, big-game, medium-form club season.

The defender: Rarely is a wingback so profilic defensively and offensively for club and country these days as Yūto Nagatomo. One of the few outstanding players are Inter, Nagatomo manages to work hard and show determination (and score 5 goals in Serie A from defence) when his teammates are thinking of jumping ship.

Lungs, scores, defends, assists, covers full field.

The midfield: Yasuhito Endō the midfield anchor of Zaccheroni’s Japan is a 34-years-young. 141 caps and 21 goals are obviously not enough, as he continues to provide the discipline and wisdom in Japan’s midfield and raise the game of the teammates around him. He is now in his 14th year with Gamba Osaka, and showing only a little signage of slowing down.

He is still key, and although I hate comparisons very much “the Japanese Pirlo” because it’s rather strikingly true.

The attack: the most successful Japanese player in history in terms of club football is off course none other than Shinji Kagawa with 2 1.Bundesliga and a Premier League title to boot.

The 25 year old-Manchester United forward grabbed 6 goals in his first (championship) season under Alex Ferguson, but had a terrible goalless run this season under Moyes, along with the rest of his squad.

Nevertheless, with a likely move away (unless van Gaal wants him) looming after the cup, Kagawa will be desperate to once again re-demonstrate his midfield playmaking at the highest stage, and Japan will march on if he does.

Dribble, speed, penetration, creativity, goal, lack of confidence, not on top form.

The captain: 7 years in the 1.Bundesliga have made Makoto Hasebe a vital and disciplined midfield dynamo for Japan. His injury this season was such a blow the Nurnberg that they got relegated, but Hasebe is an excellent midfield general and looks a perfect player for Japan.

The prospects:

set to move to Europe very soon is Yoichiro Kakitani, who already has 4 goals in 9 games for Japan, and this young, flexible striker has an excellent feeling for goal. He is especially known for his stunning first-touch shots with body movement fooling the opposition goalkeeper.

still with Yokohama F. Marinos at 24, he is already a huge star in Japan due to his crafty and energetic dribbling, and sizzling goal scoring. Manabu Saito is the next big Japanese talent waiting for the European stage. He is excellent in both direct and possession football, linking play perfectly, but also scores bags of goals.

Find the schedule: here

The pick of the games:

Colombia – Ivory Coast

19^th June - 18h CET – Belo Horizonte

I can’t wait for this one and tip it to be a high-scoring game, with both teams trying to outscore each other. Their styles are contrasting, but nevertheless this should be a cracker of a match.

Ivory Coast - Japan

15^th June – 03h – Recife

A clash of worlds that the World Cup can provide, this is a key game already for both teams and should be bags of fun. Ivory Coast are good but Japan are better prepared.

The food table:

Greece smothers everyone like a calamari in tsatsiki before progressing from this group with a very bulged stomach.

Japan elegantly slip into second with raw fish and crunchy tasty things, and a good cup of green tea.

Colombia and Ivory Coast both do honourable battle, but the lack of concept leaves them tied at third, 1/3 point behind Japan.

The prediction:

This is a hard one, before reanalysing for the purposes of this piece I had Colombia and Japan through. Now, I am again, as always, afraid that this Greek team is actually better than past teams, and that means a lot given that they often manage everything with nothing.

I hold to my prediction, but with great uncertainty.

A hell of a group, perhaps the real group of death.

TEAM PREVIEW: COSTA RICA

Costa Rica - "Ticos"

Overview: How bad can it get? You are travelling to a World Cup where you have been placed in a group with three historic winners - Italy, England and Uruguay – you lose one of your most important players to injury – Alvaro Saborio – and you have an American football commentator pronouncing your national nickname in your warm-up match versus Japan (which you lose 3-1 to a 3 goal Japanese comeback) to make it sound like “Ticks.”

Costa Rica are one of the finest teams in Comnebol, with a number of capable players, although maybe not a full squad of them, a good squad chemistry and have nothing to lose.

The national moto of Costa Rica is “Pura Vida” or pure life, and if Group D is again the group of death maybe something extraordinary could happen? Not likely, but fun to ponder.

Just to be clear, Costa Rica are a promising team with good players, but they would have much more of a chance in a different group.

The objective: The coach and captain say in a FIFA.TV interview qualification for the quarter finals is an objective, but they know they have a tough group.

The neutral pundits say making a mark and playing memorable football.

Population: 4.5 million Ticos and Ticas… 10% of the world’s butterflies live in Costa Rica.

0 of these are soldiers, Costa Rica is one of few countries in the world with no army since 1949.

Costa Rica first female President, Laura Chinchilla just ended her four year term on May 8^th.

Ethnic Groups: Unsurpased: Costa Rica is .1% of the World’s land area but holds 5% of its biodiversity.

130 prominent species of fish, 220 families of reptiles, 1590 types of butterflies, 9,000 rare types of plants, 20,000 types of spiders, and 34,000 species of insects.

On the Atlantic coast people of African descent dominate the population, and speak a very difficult Creole language and some still speak Bribri (see the anthem) an ancient original language. On the west or pacific coast, the majority are European origin.

Funny expressions: Costa Ricans are rather creative with Spanish. Your partner (in love) is refered to as your Media Naranja or Half-Orange.

The unquestionable national moto is “pura vida” which means “pure life” and it is used very frequently as a greeting, goodbye, or motivational expression. 

Neighbouring Panamanians make fun of them because “pura” on its own can mean cocaine there.

A pregnant woman in Costa Rica is referred to as “con luz” or “with light.”

Registered Football Players: 50,588 although nearly a fifth of the population are counted by FIFA as having played football at some point in their life.

Registered Football Clubs: 254

Most Successful Clubs: Deportivo Saprissa, won the title 30 times and came runners up 15 times, although often to LD Alajuelense who got it 29 times or CS Herediano who won it 23 times.

All Time Top Scorer: Rolando “El Rolo” Fonseca struck 47 times for the national team and only put an end to his illustrious, albeit domestic Tican, career only in 2012 at 37. He was a clever, effective forward with great finishing. Unlike many other top scorers he got ridiculously rich after his football career.

Derby County, West Ham and Manchester City’s legend Paolo Wanchope was two years younger and hit the net 45 times. Wanchope is helping coach the current team.

Costa Rica will be without 32-goal 32-year-old Álvaro Saborío due to a friendly leg break in Brazil, although he still has time to catch up to the first two.

World Cup Performance: This is Costa Rica’s 4^th World Cup. Their first participation in 1990 was the best, when they stunned Scotland and Sweden (and did really well before losing to Brazil) to qualify out of Group C. In the round of 16 the Pura Vida became victims of an evil Czech Republic 4-1 sex game.

10 games played, 3 won, 1 drawn, 6 lost. 12 goals for, 21 against.

Continental Performance:  3 times CONCACAF champions, although the last time was in 1989. Their best recently was the semi-finals in 2009.

Costa Rica took part in South America’s Copa America four times, most recently as subs for Japan in 2011.

How they get their calories: Ticos dispute with neighbouring Nicaraguans about Gallo Pinto (spotted rooster) being their national dish. You fuse rice and (usually black) beans with onions, a broth and bell peppers and you get this wonderful mush of goodness.

This is often served with everything, even for breakfast inside a pastry. It also makes up part of the traditional Costa Rican lunch called Casado (married man).

The Casado also usually includes a third key ingredient which is patacones or tostones which are deep fried plantain (a non-sweet, starchy banana).

Add Chicharrón, or deep fried crispy pork skins to all this…. and

… the national sauce of Costa Rica, Salsa Lizano, a thick brown sauce which is a better HP sauce and basically needs to bathe everything.

The national beer: 

Although there are other small breweries Imperial in its three varieties of Imperial, Imperial Light, and Imperial Silver is the most likely brew to find in Costa Rica.

The runner up is the venerable Pilsen, which has been around since 1888 (incidentally or not the birth of football in Costa Rica) with a surprisingly high 5.1 per cent alcohol content. Its got a lovely bitterness and goes better with food.

Don’t be fooled though, all beers in Costa Rica come from the Florida Ice & Farm brewery or FIFCO, the whole variety of at least 10 prominent beers.

From the anthem: As you would expect farmers and pura vida:

Noble homeland, your beautiful flag

Proof of your life it gives us

Under the unsullied blue of your skies,

Peace rests, white and pure.

In the tenacious struggle of fruitful toil,

That which brings a glow to men's faces,

Your sons, simple farm hands,

Gained eternal renown, esteem and honor.

Eternal renown, esteem and honor.

And here is the Bribri version:

Kákibi bua'ë be' wakwöar buála

be' sérmi e' ujtè amé sa' a

b-kájköltösiê icha manênê rikia

surûrû ena wöchka bërë enu

Darêrê dicháne a kanè

tsikir ë e' icha

tö mât wén yök i wö ameat

b-alar íyök sóswak bèrë wätsemi

kekràmi daló daléritse ena idolò

How to blend in with the fans:

After the recent qualifying match played and marginally lost in deep snow in the US, ski-masks and winter apparel have become popular to Costa Rican fans.

The variety and creativity is great, the red, blue and white can be seen on clowns, roman centurions, giant chickens, and all of it wrapped in flags.

Most importantly keep chanting “U-S-A! No fair play!”

How they qualified: Basically it looked bad until Colombian coach Jorge Luis Pinto came in in 2011 and turned things around. The team had defensive problems and he fixed these, and very well with only 12 goals conceded in 29 qualifying matches.

Costa Rica finished second behind Mexico in their first qualifying group, and second behind the US in the final group. Their home form was far better than their away one.

The sad: Two star players, current top scorer Alvaro Saborio (32 goals including 8 in qualifying), and tactically-key left back Bryan Oviedo of Everton are both out through longer-term injuries. Especially the offence should suffer, as Oviedo was a very active left-wing playmaker for them, and Saborio the most dangerous finisher.

Joel Campbell on loan from Arsenal at Olympiakos (after a great year at Real Betis last season) bought 100 Panini World Cup sticker packs this spring, but failed to find a single one of himself… depressing… I tried it and I found 3 of myself.

For the reallllly sad Heiner Mora publically spoke of killing himself when playing for Norwegian team Hønefoss in 2012. He said that the language barrier, lack of human contact, and grey rainy weather was one thing but being separated from his lovely kids and wife back home had brought him to the brink. He left in breach of contract and went back to be a happy-smiley champion of Costa Rica with Deportivo Saprissa….. with a FIFA legal dispute on his shoulders….

…. little did he realize that all 4 negative categories are the official Norwegian prerequisite for citizenship, which comes by default with oil shares and the ministry was gearing up for awarding him an honorary Norwegian passport for speaking his mind about depression and marital problems and claiming suicidal tendencies!

The happy joy joy: Try pura vida and you will feel it too :D

An overview: Costa Rica are very likely, and right to line-up defensive in Group D. They have attacking ability, they have some technical players, but with more or less half their squad behind home-based this means they are not used to the sustained high-tempo at the top level.

Italy, Uruguay and England should not however underestimated them, Costa Rica pack a lot of bite, and a lot of flair in their squad. If you look through goals in qualifying for instance, many were not scored in the same way.

The sheer passion in this squad, and the desire to do extraordinary things could create a surprise or two in Group D, even though we are talking about the weakest team in the group with two star players unavailable.

Team Strength: The unexpected. Last night in a friendly the bewildered Japanese defence stood by as Joel Campbell cavalried (Oxford Dictionary people please add that one to the English language) past on the left (opposite) flank and fed an unmarked Bryan Ruiz for a superb first-touch finnish.

There are some really good players in Costa Rica, and they play better when surrounded by other Ticos, wether at home or for their national team.

Ohh and they have an exceptionally good goalkeeper.

Team Weakness: Tempo over 90 minutes, and a lack of international experience in many areas of the pitch.

They can be beaten in an extended match, and especially if hit hard and early.

On top of the injuries, a lot of the best players have to play out-of-natural-position to make the whole system work.

The song(s):

These guys are great and what you would expect

This Yank singing about Costa Rica (about 10% of the song titled Costa Rica actually is about the country) less so

The Goalkeeping Department: 8.4

I am not going to overrate him but Keylor Navas was really in the running for the goalkeeper-of-the-year (Zamora) award in Spain this year. He is good, and a real agile shot-stopper, although I find him to overcommit sometimes for Costa Rica because he has a slow, inexperienced defence in front of him. The backup for him is quite decent, and so good that it kept AZ Alkmaar’s Esteban Alvarado off of the team.

Defenders: 7.1

This is a hard rating to give, because there are some rather good players there like Mainz’s Junior Diaz, Rosenborg’s Gamboa, or NY Red Bull’s Roy Miller.

They have improved tremendously with the extra cover provided by the current tactics, but I still rate the lack of experience and propensity for mistakes badly. Last night in a friendly with Japan in Florida, they scored first but gave up 3 goals to the hard working Japanese as the defence got a good lesson ahead of the World Cup.

It’s not so much the quality of defenders, as one the reason a lot of 5 man defences have been abandoned throughout the football world is that they limit mobility and can be beaten by more mobile teams.

The middle: 7.6

Not bad, industrious, skilled, creative and capable. They also participate in the attack.

The attack: 7.8

Basically Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell trying to hit opponents on the break, which they often manage, or holding the ball up to play sometimes-scoring-midfielders in.

The coach:  7.4

The short (1.65 cm) Colombian Jorge Luis Pinto Afanador has it all to prove. Recently he criticized Roy Hodgson “for lacking tactical clarity” with England, and said Uruguay were favourites in Group D. He praised Uruguay’s tactical discipline and prophesied that these games “would bring the best out of Costa Rica.”

When he took over the team in 2011, the team was on a very bad run, especially defensively, and he has since managed to carve out the best defence in the final round of CONCAF qualifying.

Of all of his traits, he seems to be charismatic, disciplined, and capable of handling adversities such as the loss of key players. He took 5 titles in 3 countries with different clubs and he knows how to build squad chemistry. He also worked with the Colombian national team briefly but during a bad spell. He is experienced, but not against foreign teams like England or Italy. He is a declared admirer of Jose Mourinho’s tactics and allegedly had his players watching Chelsea matches during the preparation phase.

Can this wily 61-year-old wolf prove Costa Rica as World Cup 2014 underdogs?

The Tactics: Although it looks different on paper 3-4-3 and 5-4-1 is in this case the same tactic in attack mode and defensive mode respectively. It requires a lot of work and a lot of running, and is best played when being able to out-tempo other teams, which is why it often fails.

Two of the midfielders go into the attacking phase and two defensive, although normally in an ideal performance of this tactic, and this is hard to explain, one about half as much as the other. In Costa Rica’s case Bryan Ruiz is the most attacking, and the patient and creative Christian Bolaños of FC Copenhagen fame does the three quarters or trequartista job.

It works if performed with seasoned players, and it worked against weaker opposition in the CONCACAF qualifying, but will it work in a very overwhelmingly quality-stacked Group D this World Cup?

It could.

Everybody knows…. Bryan Ruiz was part of a poor Fulham side, but as the London team’s fans will tell you he was often too good for the players around him. He is one of those classic Latin American players who you can’t get to run for 90 minutes but when he does something its more often than not pure magic. 13 goals in 62 outings for Costa Rica are not that impressive, but the winger or second-forward has 82 in 217 in Holland.

He has a deadly dip on his long-shot, and shoots from unexpected angles. As his goal against Japan shows he is very good at sneaking in undetected into the opponent’s box.

Should be more famous…. Well except for most of the team Junior Diaz is a player who is very well known to Polish and Wisla Krakow fans with his brilliant defensive (and wingback) performances in the team’s Europa League campaigns in 2008-2009 where he was a key man. His defensive performances are strange, as he is a technical but not strong defender, great at contributing to attack but not always perfect defensively. He will be filling in for Oviedo on the left for Costa Rica and he is versatile able to fill many roles and positions. After medium-success at Club Brugge he is now a used sub with Mainz in the 1.Bundesliga.

No one has heard off… central midfielder José Miguel Cubero has 34 caps and 2 goals for Costa Rica and has spent his entire career at Herediano. He could be a started for Costa Rica, competing with Barrantes and Yeltsin, and he brings good headers, a good read of the game and a solid tackle. He is also a goal poacher and great at scoring off-set-pieces despite a medium build. It seems that he will be moving to the Seattle Sounders in the MLS after the World Cup, but this is not yet official.

Unfulfilled talent: Right-back Cristian Gamboa lost his place in the Rosenborg team this season, although he was initially seen as a hot prospect. He has the physical and speed characteristics, but he lacks tactical discipline and this has made him unpopular with conservative Scandinavian coaches. More was expected from him, but he will have a chance to show himself as a Tico starter at the World Cup.

Still going…  Michael Barrantes, is a key midfielder with Norway’s Aalesund and the 30 year old was named Norwegian Midfielder of the year in 2011. 4 successful seasons in Norway have earned him a reputation, but he is unlikely to get a chance in other leagues at this stage. He is a consistent player, with a good passing range, and in Norway his technique and tactical sense dominate the midfield. He is not currently a Ticos starter though, but rather a backup to Borges.

The heart of the team…. Quite a key player in the Danish Superliga with FC Copenhagen Christian Bolaños had a three great seasons in Denmark until this last one.

The goalscorer.... After shining at the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2005, Celso Borges was picked as one of the top 10 young players to watch out for in the future. Now, at 26 (since last week), he has made waves only in Scandinavia, and not very big ones at that.

His quality is obvious when he plays all over the midfield for AIK, and his eye fore goal from range, accurate-unexpected passing, late runs into the box, and unexpected accurate hits has netted 68 club goals from midfield in his career. With 14 goals for already Costa Rica the former Frederisktad star could be the man to come up with nexpected goals for the Ticos.

Randall Brenes grew out of real poverty, putting himself through youth football by working long weeks to make the bus fare to training with Cartaginés. After Saborio was injured this talented striker could step in and score goals for Costa Rica, something he has already done 8 times for his country.

The young star… Joel Campbell was a hero to Beticos in their heroic 2012-13 campaign, and was much missed this season when he moved again on loan from Arsenal to Olympiacos where he scored 8 goals on their march to the Greek title. He is an unpredictable winger, but playing as a striker for Costa Rica he will flood open space and drag defences around the pitch before playing in his teammates. His best chances for scoring will be on the counterattack, which he can do relatively well, at 21 he will be looking to add to his 9 Tico goals himself.

In bad form this season…. Rarely is a player bound for the World Cup in as bad form as Marco Ureña. He signed for Russian Kuban Krassnodar in 2011, but the pacey striker has failed to find the net even a single time in the Russian Premier League. He does play better with the national team, and he will look to add enough to his nine goal total so that some club rescues him from Russian-provincial bad-form misery.

In great form this season…. Keylor Navas was for most of the Spanish reason on top of the prestigious Zamora goalkeeper-of-the-year competition after his superb performances for unfancied Levante (who play the same formation as Costa Rica incidentally). He is an agile, excellent goalkeeper and if the Ticos show themselves this season he will be very much at the heart of those perfomances.

Candidate for discovery of the tournament…  Yeltsin Tejeda was named after the Russian leader by his mother, although he seems to have a much healthier liver. Playing with champions Saprissa he has worked himself into a potential started next to Borges in the Costa Rican midfield and he is a very good defensive midfielder who looks likely to move to (the likely destination for Ticos) Scandinavia in the near future. He has good tactical discipline and a good solid tackle.

Recognized player not going to feature… As already mentioned Everton’s left wingback Bryan Oviedo will be sorely missed, but the biggest loss is prolific goalscorer Alvaro Saborio. AZ’s goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado (perhaps after his brutal attack on a fan) also misses the plain.

The prospect of tomorrow… Lille has a knack for turning prospects into great players, and the next likely one is John Jairo Ruiz, a pacey, dangerous winger who scored 13 goals in 15 games while on loan at Belgian Mouscron last season. The 20 year old has a single Tico cap to his name, and he didn’t make his squad, but he is one of several young stars looking set to continue the country’s football growth.

Worth mentioning:

If the Tico defence has anything approaching a rock it has to be 29 year old New York Red Bulls defender Roy Miller. It is around him and his sweeping that the central defence of Costa Rica has been stabilized, but will it be strong enough for Group D?

The core team: 

Keylor Navas (Levante), Patrick Pemberton (Alajuense), Daniel Cambronero (Herediano) (GK)

Johnny Acosta (Alajuense), Giancarlo González (Columbus Crew), Michael Umaña (Saprissa), Óscar Duarte (Club Brugge), Heiner Mora (Saprissa), Waylon Francis (Columbus Crew), Júnior Díaz (Mainz), Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg), Roy Miller (NY Red Bulls) (DEF)

Celso Borges (AIK), Christian Bolaños (Copenhagen), Michael Barrantes (Aalesund), Esteban Granados (Herediano), Yeltsin Tejeda (Saprissa), Diego Calvo (Vålerenga), José Miguel Cubero (Herediano) (MID)

Joel Campbell (Olympiacos/Arsenal), Bryan Ruiz (PSV), Randall Brenes (Cartagines), Marco Ureña (Kuban Krasnodar) (FWD)

A great team moment:  The 1-0 loss away to the US in snowy Colorado, because the team played well and lost and the fans really got behind them since then.

A legend:  Croatian, Austrian, Mexican, Spanish, and Italian fans might remember Hernán Medford who played 89 times and scored 18 goals for Costa Rica. The powerful striker was never prolific, but certainly memorable and dangerous to defences.

Group D: 

Uruguay (June 14th) in hot and humid Fortaleza. Uruguay are the heavy favourites, even if they are (likely) without Suarez on the day, as they play a superior bland of Latin American football. The Uruguayan defence and control of the midfield will make it a hard day for the Ticos, but maybe they can catch an unfocused Uruguay off guard once or twice.

Italy (June 20th) in hot and humid Recife. This is a very very interesting game, as it will likely force the Italians on the attack. With New Zealand on Italian minds (Costa Rica actually has two national players that player their club football in Wellington Pheonix) the pressure will be on, and a surprise is possible unless the Italians close things down rapidly. I bill this one as a very interesting match nevertheless.

England (June 24th) in a likely cooler Belo Horizonte. Two contrasting styles, and given that in Group D nothing is likely to be sealed on the third match day this should be an exciting one with the eyes of the world watching on. If England can turn up the tempo they should rip apart the Costa Ricans, but if they don’t anything can happen.

Pre Tournament Friendlies:

Paraguay (San Jose, Costa Rica) on March 5th 2014 winning 2-1 Campbell and Saborio the scorers.

Japan (Tampa Bay, Florida) on June 2^nd, 2014 where they gave up a 1-0 lead (Bryan Ruiz) to lose 3-1.

Republic of Ireland (Chester, Pennsylvania, US) on June 6^th 2013, should be a tough and physical test they could win… injuries are always possible against the Irish though.

Prognosis: If their defence has 270 good minutes, if they play happy-go-lucky football with no pressure, and if the stars align Costa Rica might pull of a miracle and advance from the group.

Their games should be fun, and all in all Group D’s deciding matches might be against Costa Rica where the bigger fish have the pressure of three points.