GC Obit: Costa Rica

Costa Rica regressed in the Gold Cup. Although Costa Rica has never won a Gold Cup, the Ticos have reached the last two World Cup finals without too much of a struggle (at least in the hexagonal). But the team that pulled out solid results in qualifying was nowhere to be found this tournament.

With players such as Cristian Bolanos and Gabriel Badilla, Costa Rica has talent - that part is not in question. But Costa Rica took steps backward with their Gold Cup performances.

Grouped with Canada, Guadeloupe and Haiti, Costa Rica was the clear favorites entering the tournament. Instead, Canada and Guadeloupe are headed to the semifinals while Costa Rica is out. Their performance against Mexico on Sunday surely did not leave much confidence in their fans. Had Costa Rica gone down with guns blazing, maybe things would have been different but Costa Rica was unimaginative and fell for Mexico's dives and got into a physical match.

Hernan Medford has much to learn as coach and the pressure will be on him to reach the World Cup finals, especially with the previous two teams reaching the tournament. If some of the second-tier nations in the region such as Guatemala and Honduras can get organized and field strong and competitive squads going forward, Costa Rica will have a much more difficult time reaching the 2010 World Cup final than it did before 02 and 06.