Costa Rica Announce Provisional World Cup Squad

If you are a fan of Costa Rica’s domestic league, you will be very familiar with the names on coach Alexandre Guimaraes’ 28-man provisional World Cup squad. If you are like the rest of us, you probably wouldn’t be able to pick these guys out of a police lineup even if they were wearing uniforms with their names on their backs. The list includes only four players who play abroad. It also includes nine players from the 2002 World Cup squad, as well as five goalkeepers, an indication that this might be one of their more unsettled positions. There’s also forward Paulo Wanchope, perhaps the most recognizable of the Ticos thanks to the time he spent playing in England.

Even though they might be obscure to a lot of us, Costa Rica does have some talented players, as was displayed when their domestic league champion Saprissa finished third at the Club World Championships in Tokyo.

Here’s the roster. There will be a test tomorrow so get busy memorizing.

Goalkeepers: Wardy Pizarro (Alajuelense), Jose Porras (Saprissa), Gabriel Badilla (Saprissa), Alvaro Mesen (Herediano), Adrian de Lemos (Brujas).

Defenders: Gilberto Martinez (Brescia, Italy), Roy Miller (Bodo Glimt, Norway), Luis Marin (Alajuelense), Michael Rodriguez (Alajuelense), Harold Wallace (Alajuelense), Cristian Montero (Alajuelense), Jervis Drummond (Saprissa), Douglas Sequeira (Chivas USA, U.S.), Carlos Johnson (Herediano), Leonardo Gonzalez (Herediano), Michael Umana (Brujas)

Midfielders: Carlos Hernandez (Alajuelense), Walter Centeno (Saprissa), Christian Bolanos (Saprissa), Randall Azofeifa (Saprissa), Mauricio Solis (Comunicaciones, Guatemala), Danny Fonseca (Cartagines)

Forwards: Bryan Ruiz (Alajuelense), Ronald Gomez (Saprissa), Alvaro Saboro (Saprissa), Victor Nunez (Cartagines), Kurt Bernard (Puntarenas), Paulo Wanchope (Herediano) (Writing by John McPhaul)