Costa Rica gave the surprise in Group D by drawing a goalless draw against Brazil. Gustavo Alfaro appreciated what his players had done and stated that the most important thing is to understand that they came to this competition to show that they will fight each game as if it were a final. On Friday, June 28, starting at 5 pm in Phoenix, the rival will be the Colombian National Team who arrives motivated after beating Paraguay in their debut.
The Argentine coach was clear when stating that each game is a different story, despite the good result against Brazil. He understands that the most important thing will be to play the remainder of the championship as if it were a final and The next rival is Néstor Lorenzo’s team, which arrives undefeated in 24 games without losing.
“Each game is a story in itself. Hopefully this match (against Brazil), this lesson, this challenge that we have faced, will help us grow. The important thing is that the boys had the temperance, the ability to go through discomfort and to suffer. We are going to play all the games as if they were the final,” said Alfaro.
Alfaro wants Costa Rica to be looked at with respect
The good result against Brazil caused the coach to take the opportunity to warn Colombia and Paraguay, next rivals in the competition. For the Argentine, the most important thing is that they see that Costa Rica is not going to give up in any match and that order will be key to maintaining the idea.
“I hope they start looking at us with respect, because we are a team that is going to maintain order, that is going to fight until the end.” and that in the most difficult moments it will show what Ticos have culturally, which is to never give up and do the best,” added the coach.
Furthermore, he was clear in stating that the draw with Brazil cannot block them from what they must correct. “We hope that these results serve to gain respect. YesHowever, the mistake would be to believe that by drawing with Brazil we already have all the answers. This is the starting point of the construction we want to do. There is a lot of work left, we are just laying the foundations and it can be said that we already have a group, but we have to find a team and there is a lot of work left.
Finally, he declared that they did not reach the Cup to be the wild card of the other teams. “We showed that we did not come for a walk. We can lose all the games, but we are going to fight in all the games as if they were finals and it is an attitude that we do not negotiate.”
Colombia and a single Cup defeat against Costa Rica
They have faced each other four times in the Copa AméricaThe first was in 1997 when Colombia won 4-1 with scores from: Neider Morantes (x2), Wilmer Cabrera and Víctor Aristizábal, Costa Rica’s discount was marked by Mauricio Wright.
The last time they played in this tournament was in 2016, which was also held in the United States. On that occasion the victory was for Costa Rica, the first in its history in the Cup against Colombia, it was a 3-2 in Houston. On Friday at the Phoenix stadium there will be a new duel between both teams.
Colombia’s history against Costa Rica in the Copa América
- Copa América 1997: Colombia 4-1 Costa Rica
- Copa América 2004: Colombia 2-0 Costa Rica
- Copa America 2011: Colombia 1-0 Costa Rica
- Copa America 2016: Colombia 2-3 Costa Rica
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