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 Oh man, these guys are so hosed. Yeah, but maybe slightly less so than you'd think. Let me run it down quick. Los Ticos enter the World Cup with by far the lowest odds of winning the whole thing, which is at least in part due to the fact that they got arguably the hardest group assignment in the tournament. They're going to have to get past Spain, Germany, and a Japan team that, like them, is in a bit of a generational moment. It's a bunch of skeletons and a bunch of babies, and nothing in between. The older crowd is mostly remnants of the magical 2014 team that made the best eight, some of whom we'll get back to in a bit. But even a year ago, this team wasn't even likely to recapture any World Cup magic at all. In June 2021, they had won a single drat game in 14 appearances. Exit Ronaldo Gonzales, enter this man:  Luis Fernando Suarez didn't immediately turn this squad around. They did reach the quarters of the Gold Cup, but they only took two points from their first three qualifiers. Then, 2022 hit, and the guy who managed Ecuador in to the quarterfinals in 2006 had them firing on all cylinders. They won 6, drew 1, and squeaked in by beating New Zealand in the intercontinental playoff. They're coming in to their identity, finally, leveraging the experience they have and the youth in the wings (literally). There IS a path to victory, however unlikely. Group Stage Schedule (EST) VS Spain - Wednesday 23, 11 AM EST VS Japan - Sunday 27, 5 AM EST VS Germany- Thursday 1, 2 PM EST So how are they gonna win this thing? Costa Rica have gone back in time. They've rediscovered their formula of success in 2014, which is to lock you and them in a loving bank vault for 90 minutes. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out. In their first six wins in 2022, they scored seven goals and conceded a single score. They are a stifling defensive team that will choke the life out of you. They're slightly vulnerable to faster speed on the wings, but they make up for it by bogging you down in front of the box and forcing low quality shots. Costa Rica run a very wide 4-4-2 with a double pivot, and they don't press high on the pitch at all. They stuff the absolute gently caress out of their third of the field and play for a long pass counter, with backs rushing up to stuff the box in search of headers. They're able to do this with confidence thanks in part to their legendary national keeper, Keylor Navas. Navas is backing up at PSG now, but he is the biggest reason they're in this Cup at all, and he's going to be one of two keys to this run, along with Jewison Bennette. Bennette, on the left wing, is only one of seven players in this squad to be playing club football abroad. But he's very clearly validated Sunderland's decision to sign a relative unknown to a good contract. He's the kid who put the ball on Joel Campbell's foot that sent them past New Zealand. He scored two goals against South Korea in a friendly this year. If Los Ticos are going to get any unexpected firepower, it'll be from over there on the wing. They have the longest odds, and many will be viewing this as a fond farewell to their greats and a warm hello to the future. But Los Ticos have proven that they can shock the world before. John McClane fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Nov 23, 2022 |
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Nov 10, 2022 11:08
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I believe in 76 year old bryan ruiz
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Nov 10, 2022 16:12
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keylor gonna swing his way to national team triumph
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Nov 10, 2022 16:47
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Jewison Bennette for player name of the tournament, and it's not even close
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Nov 10, 2022 18:42
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Backdoor Delivery posted:Jewison Bennette for player name of the tournament, and it's not even close Only because Jizz Horncamp isn't good enough for the Netherlands
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Nov 10, 2022 18:45
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Backdoor Delivery posted:Jewison Bennette for player name of the tournament, and it's not even close Waiting for the Ghana squad to be announced but there is a serious contender in the longlist
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Nov 10, 2022 18:50
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Nice OP, OP. I agree with everything. To add to this, Bryan’s rotting corpse is there to finish up defending a one goal advantage or a draw by intelligently keeping possession and holding up the ball, he’s extremely good at that and was key to some of the qualifying results. Jewisson is the new Joelito and I’m very excited about his future. Hate to disappoint you all but his name is pronounced yeh-wee-son Also it is always necessary to highlight that Johan Venegas is a useless piece of poo poo and he will miss at least two sitters if not more. E: fun/sad fact that I just remembered: midfielder Orlando Galo had his spot on the squad pretty much guaranteed but he got himself into a doping investigation because of some acne cream that contained some prohibited substance. Simone Poodoin fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Nov 11, 2022 |
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Nov 11, 2022 00:26
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the sex ghost posted:I believe in 76 year old bryan ruiz
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Nov 11, 2022 02:05
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Simone Poodoin posted:
another fun fact: Jewisson is his father (also a national team vet), the kid on the team only has one s his uncle was also on the national team, with the excellent name of Try Bennette John McClane fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Nov 11, 2022 |
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Nov 11, 2022 12:11
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John McClane posted:Ronald Gonzalez Forgot to mention that I go to the same gym as him. Very nice guy and one of the heroes of Italy 90 but just a bad coach unfortunately.
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Nov 11, 2022 15:32
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Been a big Costa Rica fan since
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Nov 20, 2022 20:44
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Fastest goal is your best bet imo, other scenarios are unlikely.
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Nov 20, 2022 21:12
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Strap the gently caress in
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Nov 23, 2022 16:09
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Hoping for some top managerial tactical management at half time from *checks OP* Luis Suarez?? and a 4 goal turnaround inshallah
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Nov 23, 2022 17:53
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NinpoEspiritoSanto posted:Hoping for some top managerial tactical management at half time from *checks OP* Luis Suarez?? and a 4 goal turnaround inshallah I'm expecting them to take a bite out Spain in the second half here
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Nov 23, 2022 17:56
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Nov 23, 2022 18:40
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Change the thread title to "Navas is dead" imho
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Nov 23, 2022 18:57
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This will only make it funnier when we beat germany
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Nov 23, 2022 19:03
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oof on the positive side my worst team prize is back on the menu
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Nov 23, 2022 19:04
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John McClane posted:This will only make it funnier when we beat germany Or japan, that works too
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Nov 27, 2022 12:40
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I'm banking on a solid win in the final game for my sweeps, don't let me down Costa Rica lads
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Nov 27, 2022 16:02
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lmao that Keysher Fuller of all people was the hero, but he was the hero of the match against Panama in qualifying too, shortly after this Bryan scored the winner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYMRLmhbXwo
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Nov 28, 2022 00:27
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On to germany
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Nov 28, 2022 09:59
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most goals in the group stages out of concacaf
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Dec 1, 2022 21:52
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I am satisfied. After the worst possible start the team showed courage and for a few glorious seconds the funniest result was a reality.
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Dec 1, 2022 22:03
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if they can replace the old corpses with more guys like vargas this team will be loving scary in the CUM zone
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Dec 1, 2022 22:14
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John McClane posted:most goals in the group stages out of concacaf the second goal was some prime concacaf goalscoring
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Dec 1, 2022 22:18
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John McClane posted:most goals in the group stages out of concacaf do I get a sweepstakes trophy for that
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Dec 1, 2022 22:21
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Soo close to chaos football oh well, lets go Japan !
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Dec 1, 2022 22:34
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Simone Poodoin posted:I am satisfied. After the worst possible start the team showed courage and for a few glorious seconds the funniest result was a reality.
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Dec 1, 2022 22:40
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Well done to Costa Rica, I was really pulling for them to go through and they showed a lot of fight against a tough opponent. I'll be following the progress of your team with interest in future tournaments!
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Dec 1, 2022 23:16
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Simone Poodoin posted:I am satisfied. After the worst possible start the team showed courage and for a few glorious seconds the funniest result was a reality. As far as I'm concerned this is reality.
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Dec 1, 2022 23:45
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| # ? May 3, 2024 19:09 |
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Blowsta Peeca
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Dec 6, 2022 23:40
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