It's fair to say exiting the World Cup at the Quarter Finals stage is perhaps Costa Rica's greatest ever achievment. Certainly in footballing terms it is, but given the country has no military- it is candidate for it's greatest achievement as a nation.
Many expected Los Ticos to exit in the Group Stages when they were drawn with Italy, Uruguay and England- three former World Cup champions. They got their tournament off to the perfect start when they managed to come back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 against Uruguay.
In their second Group game it was thought normal service would resume for Costa Rica when they played Italy. However, the Central Americans put in a solid performance to win 1-0 thanks to a Bryan Ruiz goal. Their final Group game was a dead rubber, against England, but ensured they would go unbeaten as they drew 0-0 in Belo Horizonte.
In the knockout rounds they started timidly against Greece but eventually the asserted their quality when they won the penalty shootout 5-3. They went on to face the Netherlands in their first Quarter Final and unfortunately the story ends there for Costa Rica.
After a gruelling 120 minutes, where Goalkeeper Keylor Navas came out on top with some big time saves. It was Tim Krul who was made to be the hero when he saved two penalties in a 4-3 shootout win for the Dutch.
The tournament will have a lasting impact for Costa Rican football in the future. On the back of their performances, the Costa Rican league and other Central American leagues should see an influx of European scouts hoping to find the next Joel Campbell or Keylor Navas.
Costa Rica now has a real footballing identity, while for many years they have featured in World Cups. They were just one of the teams seen as 'making up the numbers', now they will be taken seriously as real contender to make it into the knockout phase.
The tournament should also have an impact on some players from the Costa Rican squad. Joel Campbell should now be seen as one of Arsenal's brightest youth players after proving his worth on the international stage.
Keylor Navas will now be regarded as one of the world's best goalkeepers after showing the global game what he has been doing in Spain for the last couple of seasons.
Bryan Ruiz should have earned more respect than he ever did at Fulham. The 28-year-old has shown what an effective number 10 he can be, particularly when his heart is in the game. Given how well he has performed in the Dutch League over the years, he would be smart replacement for Siem De Jong at Ajax.
Finally, Jorge Luis Pinto, Costa Rica's manager, deserves a chance at managing in Europe. The veteran Colombian has been excellent motivater for Los Ticos and his influence from the bench was one of the main factors behind Costa Rica's run at the World Cup. Surely it would be worth a team from La Liga to give him a chance at taking reigns in one of the world's major leagues.
