The sense of history might have been stifling for Costa Rica. Thrust into Group D alongside three former world champions, the central Americans have been considered as the small fry. This is only their fourth World Cup and every statistic has seemed to attack them. They had never beaten Uruguay, for example.
Jorge Luis Pinto, though, had stressed that famous jerseys and reputations meant nothing and that the present was all that mattered. On a night that came coated in glory for the manager and his players, they scoffed at the preconceptions and illuminated this stadium with a breathtaking second-half comeback.
They did it the hard way, having started slowly and fallen behind to an Edinson Cavani penalty. At half-time, the notion that Costa Rica would get anything felt far-fetched. Uruguay had bristled with streetwise assurance and their lead might have been greater, but for Keylor Navas’s wonderful save from Diego Forlán. The goalkeeper scrambled back to tip Forlán’s deflected shot over the crossbar on 44 minutes.
But Costa Rica were electric after the interval, hurting Uruguay with their pace and aerial threat on set pieces. They fashioned a devastating one-two punch in the form of goals from Joel Campbell and Óscar Duarte and, to complete the perfect evening, the substitute Marco Ureña ran on to a pass from Campbell to score within minutes of his introduction.
Campbell was the star turn. He had offered a threat while the chips were down in the first half, showing intelligent movement and his powerful shooting, but it was in the second half when he turned the screw. His equaliser was the goal of the evening, a composed chest-down and left-footed thump past Fernando Muslera and, by the end, Uruguay and the defender Maxi Pereira had had enough.
The right-back swung a spiteful kick at Campbell as they tussled by the corner to earn a straight red card. Pereira was not the only Uruguayan to be censured in the second half. Diego Lugano, Walter Gargano and Martín Cáceres were booked for cynical challenges, as Uruguay fought, without success, to stem the tide.
On this evidence, Campbell may yet forge a career at Arsenal, the club that he joined from Saprissa in 2011 but has yet to play for. His past three seasons have been spent on loan, although he has now has a work permit to go with the desire to make his mark upon the Premier League.
This was the result of Uruguayan nightmares and they could not escape the scene of their torture quick enough. Nor could their supporters. The descent from comfort to disaster was startling and their World Cup hopes have been left to hang by a thread.
Óscar Tabárez chose not to bring Luis Suárez off the substitutes’ bench, as the striker recovers from keyhole knee surgery and the manager faces a huge task to lift his shattered players for Thursday’s meeting with England. On the downside for England, Uruguay will be angry and determined to save their necks. Another defeat could be fatal.
As for Suárez, Tabárez said there had been “uncertainties as far as his fitness is concerned”. He refused to offer any assurances, saying: “If Luis improves, there is a chance he may play against England.”
Costa Rica had set up with five at the back, four in midfield and the desire not to be breached. Uruguay might also prefer to strike on the counter but it was they who stepped on to the front foot, sensing that they needed to force the issue. They worked some attractive triangles in the first half and they flickered before the opening goal, when Diego Godín had an effort pulled back for offside and then when Cavani miskicked a volley. That was a bad miss.
Costa Rica could lament their concession for several reasons. Yeltsin Tejeda jumped with two feet off the ground to foul Cristian Rodríguez and if the midfielder was fortunate not to be booked, the punishment was swiftly meted out. Forlán whipped in the free-kick and Júnior Díaz allowed Lugano to get goal-side of him. His attempt to repair the damage was clumsy, wrapping his arms around Lugano’s waist, and Cavani converted the penalty with the minimum of fuss.
Campbell had fizzed a rocket wide from distance and there were the signs that Uruguay were vulnerable to set-pieces. Twice, Giancarlo González had the scent of goal, the first time from Duarte’s nod back but he could not apply the decisive touch.
Uruguay’s weaknesses were more pronounced in the second half and Duarte ought to have equalised when he beat Godín to Christian Bolaños’s free-kick only to head straight at Muslera. Uruguay’s reprieve was temporary. Cristian Gamboa chased a seemingly lost cause, won it and crossed from the byline on the right and when it came through for Campbell, he crashed it home.
Moments later, Uruguay were on their knees. From another Bolaños free-kick, Duarte once again attacked the far post, ahead of Rodríguez, to score with a brave, stooping header. Campbell would also curl another long-range shot inches wide. “Cost-a-Ric-a,” chanted the crowd, many of whom were Brazilian. There is no love lost between Brazil and Uruguay.
Back came Uruguay. Cavani got into a dangerous area and he crossed but there was nobody there while he also made Navas work with a header. Yet it was Ureña who had the last word. Costa Rica could enjoy one of the great nights.
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