Road to the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup: Costa Rica | OneFootball

MIAMI – The 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup will see Costa Rica make its 17th appearance in the tournament.

Costa Rica will feature in Group A against Mexico, Suriname and the Dominican Republic. Los Ticos will seek their first title under Mexican manager Miguel Herrera.

The nation’s latest qualification came as one of the winners in the 2025 Gold Cup Prelims. The team won 13-1 on aggregate against Belize to book its spot in the summer spectacle.

The nation’s journey kicked off in Group A of League A in the 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League alongside Suriname, Guatemala, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guyana. Los Ticos went undefeated with two wins and two draws to top the group with eight points.

In the Nations League quarterfinals, Costa Rica fell 3-2 on aggregate to Central American rivals Panama. The first leg at Estadio Nacional in San José, Costa Rica, resulted in a 1-nil victory for Panama. The return fixture presented a thriller at Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City, Panama, with attacker Alonso Martínez bagging a brace in a 2-2 draw as Los Ticos just missed out on advancing to the CNL Finals.

Costa Rica was matched up against Belize in the 2025 Gold Cup Prelims and kicked off with a 7-nil win on the road. Five different goal scorers found the scoresheet: Braces from Manfred Ugalde and Álvaro Zamora were complemented by Kenneth Vargas, Jeyland Mitchell, and Josimar Alcócer. The return leg at home resulted in a 6-1 win with Alejandro Bran getting his brace and Alonso Martínez, Ugalde, Zamora and an own goal providing the rest.

Miguel Herrera previously won the Gold Cup in 2015 as the manager of Mexico. Costa Rica came closest to winning in 2002 as runners-up and will seek to improve on a quarterfinal finish at the 2023 edition.