This is a record of Costa Rica's results at the FIFA World Cup, an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.
The Costa Rica national football team's history at the FIFA World Cup is relatively recent, as they missed the tournament for sixty years from its inception in 1930 until their first appearance at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, the team's only participation at the tournament in the 20th century. The 21st century has seen Costa Rica qualifying to all editions of the FIFA World Cup, with the exception of the 2010 and 2026 editions, which they narrowly missed.
In 2014, Costa Rica had its best performance at a FIFA World Cup. On 6 December 2013, Costa Rica was drawn into Group D with Uruguay, Italy, and England, the only group in FIFA World Cup history to feature three former world champions who, at the time, stood within the top 10 of the FIFA Men's World Ranking. Expectations for Costa Rica were overwhelmingly low, and that the team would finish in the thirty-second place. Instead, Costa Rica topped the group undefeated, with two victories and one draw, and only one goal received. After defeating Greece at the round of 16 through the penalty shoot-outs, and losing through the same means at the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, Costa Rica left the World Cup among the eight best teams, undefeated, and conceding only two goals, the least of all participants of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Sports-news outlets such as Goal and Mundo Deportivo rank Costa Rica's performance in 2014 as one of the biggest surprises in FIFA World Cup history. Such a performance at the World Cup boosted Costa Rica's prestige in the international scene, as fifteen of the twenty-three players of the squad changed teams in the two transfer windows following the World Cup, including goalkeeper Keylor Navas signing for Real Madrid. Both the Costa Rican performance at the 2014 World Cup and Navas' subsequent, successful stint with Real Madrid had a significant impact on Costa Rican sports, economy, tourism, and society.
Costa Rica ranks third in FIFA World Cup appearances within the CONCACAF region, and first within the UNCAF subregion, in which they hold as many participations as the rest of Central America combined. Costa Rica remains the only Central American team to win a match at a World Cup, which they have done six times, and the only team within that region to qualify past the group stage, which they have done twice.
The Borges family, namely father Alexandre Guimarães and son Celso Borges, have accompanied Costa Rica through all the team's appearances at the FIFA World Cup. Guimarães participated as a player in 1990, then as a coach in 2002 and 2006, while Celso played in 2014, 2018, and 2022.
Overall record
| FIFA World Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
| 1930 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 1934 | ||||||||
| 1938 | ||||||||
| 1950 | ||||||||
| 1954 | ||||||||
| 1958 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1962 | ||||||||
| 1966 | ||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1974 | ||||||||
| 1978 | ||||||||
| 1982 | ||||||||
| 1986 | ||||||||
| 1990 | Round of 16 | 13th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 1994 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1998 | ||||||||
| 2002 | Group stage | 19th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 2006 | 31st | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | |
| 2010 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2014 | Quarter-finals | 8th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 2018 | Group stage | 29th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 2022 | 27th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | |
| 2026 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2030 | To be determined | |||||||
| 2034 | ||||||||
| Total | Quarter-finals | 6/23 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 22 | 39 |
- *Denotes draws including knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
Head-to-head record
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0.00 |
| China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Czechoslovakia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0.00 |
| Ecuador | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0.00 |
| England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Germany | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 0.00 |
| Greece | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Poland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Scotland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Serbia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0.00 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Turkey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Uruguay | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Total | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 22 | 39 | −17 | 28.57 |
Matches
1990 FIFA World Cup
| 11 June 1990 Group Stage | Costa Rica | 1–0 | Scotland | Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa |
| 17:00 | Cayasso 49' | Report | Attendance: 30,867 Referee: Juan Carlos Loustau (Argentina) |
| 16 June 1990 Group Stage | Brazil | 1–0 | Costa Rica | Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin |
| 17:00 | Müller 33' | Report | Attendance: 58,007 Referee: Neji Jouini (Tunisia) |
| 20 June 1990 Group Stage | Costa Rica | 2–1 | Sweden | Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa |
| 21:00 | Flores 75' Medford 88' | Report | Ekström 32' | Attendance: 30,223 Referee: Zoran Petrović (Yugoslavia) |
| 23 June 1990 Round of 16 | Czechoslovakia | 4–1 | Costa Rica | Stadio San Nicola, Bari |
| 21:00 | Skuhravý 12', 63', 82' Kubík 75' | Report | González 54' | Attendance: 47,673 Referee: Siegfried Kirschen (East Germany) |
2002 FIFA World Cup
| 4 June 2002 Group Stage | Costa Rica | 2–0 | China | Gwangju, South Korea |
| 15:30 | Gómez 61' Wright 65' | Report | Stadium: Gwangju World Cup Stadium Attendance: 27,217 Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece) |
| 9 June 2002 Group Stage | Costa Rica | 1–1 | Turkey | Incheon, South Korea |
| 18:00 | Parks 86' | Report | Belözoğlu 56' | Stadium: Incheon Munhak Stadium Attendance: 42,299 Referee: Coffi Codjia (Benin) |
| 13 June 2002 Group Stage | Costa Rica | 2–5 | Brazil | Suwon, South Korea |
| 15:30 | Wanchope 22' Gómez 56' | Report | Ronaldo 10', 13' Edmílson 38' Rivaldo 62' Júnior 64' | Stadium: Suwon World Cup Stadium Attendance: 38,524 Referee: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt) |
2006 FIFA World Cup
| 9 June 2006 Group Stage | Germany | 4–2 | Costa Rica | Munich |
| 18:00 | Lahm 6' Klose 17', 61' Frings 87' | Report | Wanchope 12', 73' | Stadium: FIFA WM Stadion München Attendance: 66,000 Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina) |
| 15 June 2006 Group Stage | Ecuador | 3–0 | Costa Rica | Hamburg |
| 15:00 | C. Tenorio 8' Delgado 54' Kaviedes 90+2' | Report | Stadium: FIFA WM Stadion Hamburg Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Coffi Codjia (Benin) |
| 20 June 2006 Group Stage | Costa Rica | 1–2 | Poland | Hanover |
| 16:00 | Gómez 25' | Report | Bosacki 33', 65' | Stadium: FIFA WM Stadion Hannover Attendance: 43,000 Referee: Shamsul Maidin (Singapore) |
2014 FIFA World Cup
| 14 June 2014 Group Stage | Uruguay | 1–3 | Costa Rica | Fortaleza, Brazil |
| 16:00 UTC−3 | Cavani 24' (pen.) | Report | Campbell 54' Duarte 57' Ureña 84' | Stadium: Estádio Castelão Attendance: 58,679 Referee: Felix Brych (Germany) |
| 20 June 2014 Group Stage | Italy | 0–1 | Costa Rica | Recife, Brazil |
| 13:00 UTC−3 | Report | Ruiz 44' | Stadium: Arena Pernambuco Attendance: 40,285 Referee: Enrique Osses (Chile) |
| 24 June 2014 Group Stage | Costa Rica | 0–0 | England | Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
| 13:00 UTC−3 | Report | Stadium: Estádio Mineirão Attendance: 57,823 Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria) |
| 29 June 2014 Round of 16 | Costa Rica | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p) | Greece | Recife, Brazil |
| 17:00 | Ruiz 52' | Report | Papastathopoulos 90+1' | Stadium: Arena Pernambuco Attendance: 41,242 Referee: Ben Williams (Australia) |
| Penalties | ||||
| Borges Ruiz González Campbell Umaña | Mitroglou Christodoulopoulos Holebas Gekas | |||
| 5 July 2014 Quarter-finals | Netherlands | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p) | Costa Rica | Salvador, Brazil |
| 17:00 | Report | Stadium: Arena Fonte Nova Attendance: 51,179 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) | ||
| Penalties | ||||
| Van Persie Robben Sneijder Kuyt | Borges Ruiz González Bolaños Umaña | |||
2018 FIFA World Cup
| 17 June 2018 Group Stage | Costa Rica | 0–1 | Serbia | Cosmos Arena, Samara |
| 16:00 UTC+4 | Report | Kolarov 56' | Attendance: 41,432 Referee: Malang Diedhiou (Senegal) |
| 22 June 2018 Group Stage | Brazil | 2–0 | Costa Rica | Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg |
| 15:00 UTC+3 | Coutinho 90+1' Neymar 90+7' | Report | Attendance: 64,468 Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands) |
| 27 June 2018 Group Stage | Switzerland | 2–2 | Costa Rica | Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod |
| 21:00 UTC+3 | Džemaili 31' Drmić 88' | Report | Waston 56' Sommer 90+3' (o.g.) | Attendance: 43,319 Referee: Clément Turpin (France) |
2022 FIFA World Cup
| 23 November 2022 Group Stage | Spain | 7–0 | Costa Rica | Doha, Qatar |
| 19:00 AST (UTC+03:00) | Olmo 11' Asensio 21' F. Torres 31' (pen.), 54' Gavi 74' Soler 90' Morata 90+2' | Report | Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium Attendance: 40,013 Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates) |
| 27 November 2022 Group Stage | Japan | 0–1 | Costa Rica | Al Rayyan, Qatar |
| 13:00 UTC+3 | Report | Fuller 81' | Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Attendance: 41,479 Referee: Michael Oliver (England) |
| 1 December 2022 Group Stage | Costa Rica | 2–4 | Germany | Al Khor, Qatar |
| 20:00 UTC+1 | Tejeda 58' Vargas 70' | Report | Gnabry 10' Havertz 73', 85' Füllkrug 89' | Stadium: Al Bayt Stadium Attendance: 67,054 Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France) |
Player appearances
| Rank | Player | Matches | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celso Borges | 11 | 2014, 2018, and 2022 |
| Keylor Navas | |||
| 3 | Joel Campbell | 10 | 2014, 2018, and 2022 |
| 4 | Christian Bolaños | 9 | 2006, 2014, and 2018 |
| Óscar Duarte | 2014, 2018, and 2022 | ||
| Bryan Ruiz | |||
| Yeltsin Tejeda | |||
| 8 | Cristian Gamboa | 8 | 2014 and 2018 |
| Giancarlo González | |||
| 10 | Michael Umaña | 7 | 2006 and 2014 |
- 1990 FIFA World Cup squad
- 2002 FIFA World Cup squad
- 2006 FIFA World Cup squad
- 2014 FIFA World Cup squad
- 2018 FIFA World Cup squad
- 2022 FIFA World Cup squad
Goalscorers
Fifteen Costa Ricans have scored for the national team throughout their six participations at the FIFA World Cup.
| Rank | Player | Goals | World Cups and rivals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rónald Gómez | 3 | 2002 (against China and Brazil) and 2006 (against Poland) |
| Paulo Wanchope | 2002 (against Brazil) and 2006 (twice against Germany) | ||
| 3 | Bryan Ruiz | 2 | 2014 (against Italy and Greece) |
| 4 | Joel Campbell | 1 | 2014 (against Uruguay) |
| Juan Cayasso | 1990 (against Scotland) | ||
| Óscar Duarte | 2014 (against Uruguay) | ||
| Róger Flores | 1990 (against Sweden) | ||
| Keysher Fuller | 2022 (against Japan) | ||
| Rónald González | 1990 (against Czechoslovakia) | ||
| Hernán Medford | 1990 (against Sweden) | ||
| Winston Parks | 2002 (against Turkey) | ||
| Yeltsin Tejeda | 2022 (against Germany) | ||
| Marco Ureña | 2014 (against Uruguay) | ||
| Juan Pablo Vargas | 2022 (against Germany) | ||
| Kendall Waston | 2018 (against Switzerland) | ||
| Mauricio Wright | 2002 (against China) |
In addition to those players, Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer scored an own goal for Costa Rica in 2018.
Individual awards
- Golden Glove 1990: Luis Gabelo Conejo (shared)
See also
- Costa Rica at the CONCACAF Gold Cup
- Costa Rica at the Copa América
- North, Central American and Caribbean nations at the FIFA World Cup
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