Veteran Navas still Costa Rica's number one

Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas's preparations for the World Cup have been far from ideal without any appearances so far for Paris St Germain this season but the national side's captain is the first name on coach Luis Fernando Suarez's teamsheet.

Navas has fallen down the pecking order at PSG after the arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma while injury kept him out of the team when he was expected to take over from the Italy number one in the Champions League.

At 35, Navas will be playing at his last World Cup and, even though he did not make the squad for their international friendlies in September, Suarez made it clear that the shot-stopper who helped guide them to Qatar was undroppable.

"The least I have to be testing is Keylor Navas," Suarez said. "I take this (his absence for friendlies) as a possibility to see goalkeepers for the future, for that reason he is not there."

Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez. Photo: Reuters

Navas' experience was key to Costa Rica's CONCACAF World Cup qualifying campaign as the veteran commanded his box and kept seven clean sheets in 13 appearances as they conceded only eight times -- the joint second-best record after Canada.

He also made numerous saves in the inter-confederation playoff against New Zealand in a nervy 1-0 win to seal their spot for Qatar, with a heavily criticised Suarez vindicated for sticking with Costa Rica's old warhorse.

This will be Navas' third World Cup but it was in 2014 when he made a name for himself when Los Ticos overcame heavy odds and conceded only one goal to top a heavyweight group which included Uruguay, Italy and England.

Navas once said he had decided he would be a keeper aged five and he did not lack the determination to get to the top, winning LaLiga's best goalkeeper award with Levante.

His 2014 World Cup campaign was just the stamp of approval that Real Madrid needed to trigger his Levante release clause and Navas moved to the Spanish capital to eventually replace a keeper many considered irreplaceable -- Iker Casillas.

Twelve trophies followed -- including three consecutive Champions League titles and four Club World Cups. But despite being the most successful player in Costa Rica's squad, Navas remains a down-to-earth person and a leader to look up to.

"There are no airs and graces about him. He never goes off and does his own thing or does things differently to the rest of the team. No, he's focused," Suarez said.

Photo: Reuters

"People think he's up there on top of Olympus but no, he's in the same place everyone else is. He's the same as everyone else... If he has to be on the same level as someone, he is. And that someone is his team mates."

Faith in veterans for World Cup

Costa Rica head coach Luis Fernando Suarez entrusted veterans Keylor Navas, Bryan Ruiz, Joel Campbell and Oscar Duarte to lead their challenge at the Qatar World Cup as he named his 26-man selection for the tournament on Thursday.

International Friendly - Uzbekistan v Costa Rica - Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea - September 27, 2022 Costa Rica players pose for a team group photo before the match. Photo: Reuters

The tournament will be the quartet's third World Cup finals appearance, with Suarez also including the likes of Francisco Calvo, Yeltsin Tejeda and Kendall Waston.

There was also a place for young Sunderland striker Jewison Bennette who opened his international account with two goals against South Korea in September.

"It was very difficult (to make the list) because there are not only 26 players eligible to be in Qatar, we asked ourselves more questions about what we needed for the games, the current situation of each of them," Suarez told reporters.

(Top L-R) Costa Rica's goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Costa Rica's midfielder Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rica's midfielder Celso Borges, Costa Rica's defender Kendall Waston, Costa Rica's defender Giancarlo Gonzalez, Costa Rica's forward Daniel Colindres Solera, (bottom L-R) Costa Rica's forward Joel Campbell, Costa Rica's defender Johnny Acosta, Costa Rica's midfielder David Guzman, Costa Rica's defender Cristian Gamboa, Costa Rica's defender Bryan Oviedo pose prior to the Russia 2018 World Cup Group E football match between Switzerland and Costa Rica at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod on June 27, 2018. Photo: AFP

"(It is) a group that is focused on what it wants, has a lot of desire, a continuous improvement since we started."

Costa Rica, who failed to make it out of their group in Russia four years, are drawn in Group E alongside Spain, Japan and Germany.

They play friendlies against Nigeria and Iraq on Nov. 9 and 17, respectively, before kicking off their campaign against former world champions Spain on Nov. 23.

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)

Following is a statbox on Costa Rica at the World Cup.

FIFA Ranking: 31

Odds: 500-1

Previous tournaments:

Costa Rica have appeared in five World Cups since their debut in 1990. Their best performance came in 2014 when they topped a group with Uruguay, Italy and England before they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Netherlands on penalties.

However, they crashed out in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup after finishing bottom without a win.

How they qualified:

Costa Rica failed to grab an automatic berth after finishing fourth in the CONCACAF qualifiers behind Canada, Mexico and the United States. They had an identical record to the U.S. but missed out on third spot due to goal difference.

Six of Costa Rica's seven wins were by one-goal margins and that trend continued in the inter-confederation playoff where they beat New Zealand 1-0 in June to qualify.

Form guide:

Since beating the U.S. in their final World Cup qualifier, Costa Rica have had mixed results in the CONCACAF Nations League, losing to Panama but beating Martinique.

However, they stepped up their preparations for the World Cup in September with a 2-2 draw against South Korea after going down to 10 men, following it up with a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Uzbekistan when both of their goals came in injury time.