Tragedy also hit the national team during 2011, when defender
Dennis Marshall (along with his wife) died in a car accident.[3] Marshall died just five days after scoring his only international goal in a
CONCACAF Gold Cup match against
Honduras.[3]
The year marked a significant recovery in the team status within the Confederation, after several years of decay. In January, the team won the
Copa Centroamericana after two consecutive failures in
2009 and
2011.[8][9] In September, Costa Rica qualified to the
2014 FIFA World Cup after their absence in the
2010 edition. 2013 also marked the year with the most victories for the Costa Rica national team, with 13 victories.[10]
The year, regarded to be the best in the history of Costa Rican football,[16] saw the Ticos becoming the revelation team[17] at the
2014 FIFA World Cup.
After being drawn into
Group D —along with former World Champions
Uruguay,
Italy and
England—, initial reaction towards the team was of mockery,[18] and underestimation.[19] During a segment of
TeleSUR program De Zurda,
Diego Maradona mocked the team by saying "if I was Costa Rican, I would have to shoot myself [in the balls]".[20] Costa Rica topped the group undefeated after beating both Uruguay and Italy, finishing with a draw against England. The Ticos would defeat Greece in the Round of 16 throughout the penalty shootouts. Costa Rica was then eliminated by the Netherlands in the quarter-finals again in the penalty shootouts.
During most of the year, the team suffered with lackluster results, including their second worst streak without winning.[24] The
CONCACAF Gold Cup saw the Ticos reaching the quarterfinals with three draws in the group stage –against
Jamaica,
El Salvador and
Canada– only to be eliminated by
Mexico with a controversial penalty awarded to the Mexicans.[25][26]
On August 11, the team's manager
Paulo Wanchope was involved in a fight during a match of the
under-23 national team. After the match the team played against Panama at the
Estadio Maracaná, Wanchope tried to enter the pitch from the stands, being prevented to do so by a security official.[27] During the struggle with the guard to open the gate, Wanchope accidentally hit a boy and proceeded to fight with the guard.[27] After the incident, Wanchope met with members of the
Costa Rican Football Federation and announced his resignation from the management of the national team.[28]
The qualification process was interrupted in July by the
CONCACAF Gold Cup. Costa Rica began the tournament by defeating Honduras with a lone goal by
Marco Ureña, marking the first time the Ticos defeated Honduras in a Gold Cup match.[54]La Sele went on to top their group after a draw against
Canada and a victory against
French Guiana.[55][56] In the quarter-finals, Costa Rica defeated Panama with an own goal by
AnÃbal Godoy, thus making the Ticos qualify to the Gold Cup semifinals for the first time since
2009.[57] The
United States defeated Costa Rica in the semifinals with goals by
Jozy Altidore and
Clint Dempsey.[58]
Tragedy also hit the national team during 2011, when defender
Dennis Marshall (along with his wife) died in a car accident.[3] Marshall died just five days after scoring his only international goal in a
CONCACAF Gold Cup match against
Honduras.[3]
The year marked a significant recovery in the team status within the Confederation, after several years of decay. In January, the team won the
Copa Centroamericana after two consecutive failures in
2009 and
2011.[8][9] In September, Costa Rica qualified to the
2014 FIFA World Cup after their absence in the
2010 edition. 2013 also marked the year with the most victories for the Costa Rica national team, with 13 victories.[10]
The year, regarded to be the best in the history of Costa Rican football,[16] saw the Ticos becoming the revelation team[17] at the
2014 FIFA World Cup.
After being drawn into
Group D —along with former World Champions
Uruguay,
Italy and
England—, initial reaction towards the team was of mockery,[18] and underestimation.[19] During a segment of
TeleSUR program De Zurda,
Diego Maradona mocked the team by saying "if I was Costa Rican, I would have to shoot myself [in the balls]".[20] Costa Rica topped the group undefeated after beating both Uruguay and Italy, finishing with a draw against England. The Ticos would defeat Greece in the Round of 16 throughout the penalty shootouts. Costa Rica was then eliminated by the Netherlands in the quarter-finals again in the penalty shootouts.
During most of the year, the team suffered with lackluster results, including their second worst streak without winning.[24] The
CONCACAF Gold Cup saw the Ticos reaching the quarterfinals with three draws in the group stage –against
Jamaica,
El Salvador and
Canada– only to be eliminated by
Mexico with a controversial penalty awarded to the Mexicans.[25][26]
On August 11, the team's manager
Paulo Wanchope was involved in a fight during a match of the
under-23 national team. After the match the team played against Panama at the
Estadio Maracaná, Wanchope tried to enter the pitch from the stands, being prevented to do so by a security official.[27] During the struggle with the guard to open the gate, Wanchope accidentally hit a boy and proceeded to fight with the guard.[27] After the incident, Wanchope met with members of the
Costa Rican Football Federation and announced his resignation from the management of the national team.[28]
The qualification process was interrupted in July by the
CONCACAF Gold Cup. Costa Rica began the tournament by defeating Honduras with a lone goal by
Marco Ureña, marking the first time the Ticos defeated Honduras in a Gold Cup match.[54]La Sele went on to top their group after a draw against
Canada and a victory against
French Guiana.[55][56] In the quarter-finals, Costa Rica defeated Panama with an own goal by
AnÃbal Godoy, thus making the Ticos qualify to the Gold Cup semifinals for the first time since
2009.[57] The
United States defeated Costa Rica in the semifinals with goals by
Jozy Altidore and
Clint Dempsey.[58]