Costa Rica and Curaçao open Concacaf Nations League campaign in San José
On Thursday, September 24, Costa Rica and Curaçao played their opening Group A match of the Concacaf Nations League in San José, with Curaçao dominating possession while Costa Rica created more clear-cut chances.
The match in San José
On Thursday, September 24, 2026, Costa Rica hosted Curaçao at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San José for matchday one of League A, Group A of the Concacaf Nations League, according to 365Scores. Kick-off was scheduled for 11pm Brasília time, with the match streamed live on Concacaf's official YouTube channel.
Recent form
Costa Rica failed to qualify for the World Cup and were last in action in June, losing a friendly to England 3-0 after an earlier 3-1 defeat to Colombia. The team has not won since October of last year, when it beat Nicaragua 4-1. Curaçao, by contrast, had an unexpectedly strong World Cup run despite being eliminated at the group stage, picking up a point against Ecuador while losing to Germany and Ivory Coast.
The sides were led by coaches Fernando Batista (Costa Rica) and Dick Advocaat (Curaçao). Per 365Scores, the probable line-ups featured Patrick Sequeira in goal for Costa Rica behind a back line of Jeyland Mitchell, Julio Cascante and Francisco Calvo, while Curaçao started Eloy Room in goal with Cuco Martina, Jurien Gaari, Roshon van Eijma and Sherel Floranus in defence.
Match statistics
According to data published by the BBC, Curaçao controlled possession, 60.7% to Costa Rica's 39.3%. Even so, the hosts were more threatening in attack, registering 6 shots to Curaçao's 2, with 3 on target compared to none for the visitors. Curaçao were the more accurate side in possession, completing 230 passes at 85.7% accuracy against Costa Rica's 148 passes at 68.9%. Costa Rica made more tackles (17 to 11, with a 58.8% success rate versus Curaçao's 63.6%), while Curaçao were more effective defensively, making more clearances (10 to 6). Both teams committed a similar number of fouls (Costa Rica 7, Curaçao 6), and one yellow card was shown, to a Costa Rica player. The BBC's published statistics do not include the final score of the match.
