By Manasi Pathak
AL KHOR, Qatar (Reuters) – Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez was proud of the team’s performance at the World Cup in Qatar despite their elimination in the group stage on Thursday, saying his players could exit the tournament with their “heads held high”.
Costa Rica were knocked out after suffering a 4-2 defeat by Germany in their final Group E match, which left them bottom with three points after they lost 7-0 to Spain before beating Japan 1-0.
The defeat marked consecutive World Cup group-stage exits for the Central American team, who also propped up the standings at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
“In this World Cup, we showed what Costa Rica are. I am very calm that we can leave with our heads high,” Suarez told reporters. “I am so proud of this squad, they are so special. I am so proud of them, more than ever before.
“I leave with a feeling of sadness, not because we lost but that we are leaving. It’s tough to experience this as a coach, even more so in the World Cup.
“But this is us. We were ourselves against Japan and today. The most important thing is there is so much room for improvement… In the next four years there are things we need to change, but we need to build on everything we have done in the past few years.”
The Colombian also said the team have many youngsters who have bright futures.
Asked about the team’s plans for the next World Cup in 2026, the Colombian said: “We shouldn’t think so far ahead, we need to think about the next CONCACAF Gold cup, we need to show something different in our football in Central America.”
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak, editing by Ed Osmond)
