The power of words can be immense, and Miguel Herrera, the Costa Rican coach, paid the price for abusing them. After a 0-0 draw with Honduras on October 9th in San Pedro Sula, the Mexican coach decided to place the blame on... the results for the players.

Because suddenly Miguel Herrera supposedly declared after the 0-0 draw against Honduras: “I've never had a failure like this. In 23 years, one failure. I think I must have done something right to be here today.”

According to information from the Mexican newspaper AS, after that statement, players, fans, and the press turned against Miguel Herrera and seemed to lose confidence in him, if not openly, then behind the scenes, causing him to only have one win, four draws, and one loss in the final hexagonal stage.

Costa Rica finished in third place in Group C, thus failing to even qualify for the playoffs, a major failure considering that the hosts and powerhouses—Mexico, the United States, and Canada—did not participate in the regional qualifiers.

This sports publication reports that Herrera had no problems within the squad, but he wasn't close to them, beyond the fact that they operated within the team. From a line of respect, but after the statement where he gave the impression that the players were to blame and not the coach, things changed within the squad.

Herrera wanted to paint a less chaotic picture of Costa Rica's unconvincing results, which led them to the abyss in the final phase of the qualifiers, until one of the most painful eliminations in the history of the Costa Rican national team was confirmed.

Herrera tried to smooth things over by stating later that he was proud of the group of players and thanked God for putting him on the path of such a talented group, and that he regretted not being able to take them to the World Cup.

“I am very proud of the group of players I found.”I am grateful to God for putting me on this path to meet these great talents, great players… I am very sad,very angry that I couldn't give these guys the qualification they deserved, that they were striving, that they tried, I couldn't." Meanwhile, the directors of the Costa Rican Football Federation have not officially announced Miguel Herrera's departure, but they did issue a press release outlining the guidelines that will govern the future of their national team in the coming days, without mentioning the issue of Herrera's continuity or departure. "We face this difficult moment with the same pain and sadness as everyone else. From now on, the FCRF will initiate an in-depth analysis of the sporting, structural, and operational aspects that marked this qualifying campaign. This analysis will be aimed at strengthening the national team model, optimizing talent acquisition, and ensuring more solid planning for future cycles," they concluded.