Miguel Herrera was worried about Nicaragua
The Costa Rican national team was held accountable by a 1-1 draw with Nicaragua. Miguel Herrera blamed his players.
After a heated pre-match clash, Costa Rica and Nicaragua drew 1-1 at the National Stadium in Managua. The Costa Rican team is not getting off to a strong start in its first match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. "Piojo" acknowledged the shortcomings of his players.
The match at the National Stadium in Managua seemed quite complex. But everything looked set for the Costa Rican team to win the match. In the 54th minute, Jason Coronel was sent off, leaving the home side behind. Six minutes later, Costa Rica took advantage of their numerical advantage and scored the 1-0 goal through Alexis Gamboa. The outlook was very encouraging for Miguel Herrera and his team to take their first win. But Nicaragua refused to give up, and ten minutes from time, they earned a penalty for a foul inside the box, which was successfully converted by Byron Bonilla. Miguel Herrera highlighted Nicaragua's ambition. Despite not being the favorites and having a man down on the field, the Nicaraguans didn't give up and managed to salvage a draw in a very adverse situation.
"We stopped doing our job, we gave our opponents opportunities, and they went all out. They took advantage of their desire and their will in a match that we had to manage," said Herrera.
Costa Rica dominated the ball and made up to 11 shot attempts, only two of which found the goal. But they weren't as solid defensively. Nicaragua did their damage and didn't lower their intensity despite being outnumbered. Miguel Herrera has had an uninspiring start to the competition.
“We didn’t give it our all. They redoubled their efforts and were caught out by a mistake on our part and a penalty, but we stopped doing things,” he added.
A bit of luck for Miguel Herrera
Despite letting a victory slip away that seemed within reach, luck balanced out Costa Rica’s shortcomings. Haiti and Honduras drew goalless at the Ergilio Hato Stadium. In this regard, all the teams in Group C only have one point.
Costa Rica's next match will be on Tuesday, September 9, at the Costa Rica National Stadium. Haiti will be the Costa Rican team's opponent.