Costa Rica announce 26-man squad for 2022 Qatar World Cup

The North American nation were the last team to qualify for the tournament.

Costa Rica are not an unknown name on the World Cup stage. Luis Fernando's side beat New Zealand in the intercontinental play-off in June to become the last team to qualify for the tournament.

The North American nation surpassed all expectations and reached the quarter-finals in 2014 World Cup. But last time around in 2018, they were eliminated in the group stage.

This time around Cosa Rica have been drawn to Group E. They start their campaign against Spain on 23 November, followed by Japan.

"It was very difficult [to choose the squad] because there are not only 26 players eligible to be in Qatar. We asked ourselves more questions about what we needed for the games and the current situation of each of them," head coach Luis Fernando Suarez said.

"[It is] a group that is focused on what it wants, has a lot of desire [and has shown] a continuous improvement since we started," he added.

Costa Rica squad

Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas (Paris St-Germain), Esteban Alvarado (Herediano), Patrick Sequeira (CD Lugo)

Defenders: Francisco Calvo (Konyaspor), Juan Pablo Vargas(Millonarios FC), Kendall Waston (Saprissa), Oscar Duarte (Al-Wehda), Daniel Chacon (Colorado Rapids), Keysher Fuller (Herediano), Carlos Martinez (San Carlos), Bryan Oviedo (Real Salt Lake), Ronald Matarrita (Cincinnati)

Midfielders: Yeltsin Tejeda (Herediano), Celso Borges (Alajuelense), Youstin Salas (Saprissa), Roan Wilson (Grecia), Gerson Torres (Herediano), Douglas Lopez (Herediano) Jewisson Bennette (Sunderland), Alvaro Zamora (Saprissa), Anthony Hernandez (Puntarenas FC), Brandon Aguilera (Nottingham Forest), Bryan Ruiz (Alajuelense)

Forwards: Joel Campbell (Leon), Anthony Contreras (Herediano) Johan Venegas (Alajuelense)