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Costa Rican youth football builds for the future

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Costa Rica head coach Marcelo Herrera (pictured) gets doused with the contents of an ice bucket after the Ticos beat Canada on March 15, 2015, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to qualify for the next U-17 World Cup. (Photo: Mexsport

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras – For Costa Rica, earning a place at the 2015 U-17 World Cup on Sunday was a mixture of joy and relief.

The joy was derived purely from the achievement, creating a plan and following it to completion successfully.

The relief came from filling a void that has existed over the six years since the Ticos last participated in the FIFA event.

“It is difficult to describe the happiness that I feel having qualified for the World Cup in Chile because it is one of the best moments in my life in football and the biggest as a coach,” said Costa Rica manager Marcelo Herrera.  “Only those who have achieved this type of successes know how it feels."

In order to punch a ticket to Chile, the Costa Ricans went through a challenging the 2015 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship campaign.  They finished third in Group B with a 3W-1D-1L record, which placed them into a single-game playoff against Canada with a World Cup spot at stake.

Despite losing to the Canadians 3-2 in group play, Costa Rica rebounded for a 3-0 win in the second meeting between them.

"It was a game that had to be won and we earned it,” remarked Herrera, whose side also played eventual-champion Mexico to a 1-1 draw in group play.  “I always had faith that we would qualify.”

Herrera was put in charge of Costa Rica’s youth programs in October and was named the under-17 head coach in January.  He was impressed by the players’ talent and their perseverance.

“The youngsters showed me day by day,” expressed the 48-year-old Argentinean.  “This group is united and is very strong.  There are players here with limited financial resources, who find it difficult to get training.  For them to start their careers by qualifying for a World Cup is very rewarding.”

These are the early days of a project that Herrera expects will yield even greater results in the future.

“This is the beginning of a process in Costa Rican youth football that is planned for the next four years,” he finished.

Under-17 Qualifiers