Costa Rica Nations League debut loss to Curacao

Costa Rica suffered a 3-4 defeat against Curacao in their CONCACAF Nations League debut at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium. Despite an early 3-0 lead featuring two goals from Carlos Mora and one from Orlando Sinclair, the team conceded four unanswered goals in the second half following tactical substitutions by Curacao.

The match marked the competitive debut of head coach Fernando Batista and was marked by controversy regarding the absence of veteran goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Batista claimed Navas was excluded for failing to respond to a message, a statement that prompted a social media response from the player. Abraham Madriz started in goal instead.

Following the loss, Carlos Mora attributed the collapse to a lack of focus, stating, “We are responsible for what happened... we cannot lose like this because of those weaknesses in concentration.”

Further details regarding the comeback highlight that Curacao coach Dick Advocaat’s substitutions—bringing on Tahith Chong, Kenji Gorré, and Jordi Paulina—shifted the momentum. Kenji Gorré scored twice, while Chong and Paulina also found the net. Players noted that a mid-game transition to a five-defender system was not sufficiently prepared during training. Head coach Fernando Batista expressed responsibility for the tactical shifts that failed to hold the lead. The result places Curacao at the top of Group A, leaving Costa Rica under pressure to recover in the competition.