English
Costa Rica Edges Past Nicaragua in Tense Match in Managua
Managua, Nicaragua – In a match filled with tension and key moments, Costa Rica overcame Nicaragua at the Estadio Nacional de Fútbol, in the final round of CONCACAF Qualification for the 2026 World Cup. The encounter, played on September 6, 2025, saw Costa Rica dominate possession with 59% compared to Nicaragua’s 41%, although the final scoreline did not fully reflect this superiority.
The first half passed without goals, but with a yellow card for J. Arteaga of Nicaragua in the 29th minute. The second half became even more dramatic. In the 54th minute, Nicaragua suffered the expulsion of J. Coronel, which significantly complicated their aspirations. Costa Rica capitalized on their numerical advantage and A. Gamboa, assisted by A. J. Bran Flores, opened the scoring in the 60th minute.
Despite being a man down, Nicaragua showed courage and managed to reduce the deficit in the 81st minute thanks to a penalty converted by B. Bonilla. The goal injected energy into the home team, but it was not enough to prevent defeat. The match concluded with a narrow victory for Costa Rica, albeit with a performance that left much to be desired in terms of effectiveness in front of goal.
Regarding the overall statistics, Nicaragua took 9 shots, of which only 2 were on target, and conceded 4 corners. Costa Rica, on the other hand, took 11 shots, also with 2 on target, and earned 6 corners. The game was quite contested, with 6 fouls committed by Nicaragua and 12 by Costa Rica. In addition to the red card for Coronel, J. Arteaga of Nicaragua and A. Gamboa of Costa Rica also received yellow cards. The referee also showed a yellow card to Costa Rica for improper conduct.
Substitutions costa rica: at minute 46 B. Aguilera Zamora came in and A. J. Bran Flores went out., at minute 64 J. Mora came in and A. Contreras went out., at minute 86 C. Mora came in and K. Myrie went out., at minute 86 J. Alcocer came in and A. Lassiter went out.
Substitutions nicaragua: at minute 46 J. Arteaga came in and Jacob Montes went out., at minute 57 A. Smith came in and M. Lopez went out., at minute 68 J. Barrera came in and B. Bonilla went out., at minute 68 E. Gomez came in and B. Hernandez went out., at minute 87 A. Arauz came in and E. J. Martinez went out.
The teams lined up as follows:
Nicaragua
Titulares:
Costa Rica
Titulares:
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