Nations League: The Grenadiers beaten 2-0 by Costa Rica in San José

Two goals in twenty-one minutes

Costa Rica struck early. In the 6th minute, following a Rónald Matarrita cross that came after a corner kick, Carlos Mora headed the ball into the top left corner of the goal guarded by Josué Duverger from the center of the box. In the 21st minute, Andrey Soto doubled the lead with a left-footed strike from the left side of the box into the bottom right corner. Matarrita provided the assist again: he was the decisive passer for both goals.

Haiti then pushed to narrow the gap, without managing to find the back of the net until the final whistle.

Why Costa Rica made the difference

The match was not dominated in terms of possession: both teams shared the ball almost equally (50.1% for Costa Rica, 49.9% for Haiti) and managed roughly the same number of passes (347 against 350). The difference was made in front of the goal, according to match statistics published by ESPN.

Costa Rica attempted 13 shots, 3 of which were on target. Haiti attempted 6, without a single one on target: Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas did not have to make a single save the entire match. The Grenadiers sent 16 crosses into the box, and none found a teammate, while Costa Rica succeeded on 8 out of 17. The Ticos also made their presence felt on set pieces: they won 6 corners, including the one that led to the opening goal.

Haiti did recover the ball often, with 23 interceptions against 6 for their opponent, but could not turn these recoveries into clear-cut chances. Official Concacaf figures point in the same direction: 0.63 expected goals (xG) for Costa Rica against 0.28 for Haiti, and no Haitian shots on target. The Grenadiers did have the only big chance of the match according to Concacaf, but attempts by Wilson Isidor and, late in the match, Frantzdy Pierrot were blocked by the Costa Rican defense.

On the other side, the Haitian defense held firm after the break: Duke Lacroix, Jean-Kévin Duverne, Hannes Delcroix, and Carlens Arcus blocked several Costa Rican shots, and Josué Duverger pushed away an attempt by Kenyel Michel. Costa Rica did not score again after the 21st minute.

David Badia's choices and changes

Head coach David Badia fielded a different starting eleven from the one that had beaten Costa Rica on September 27: Josué Duverger in goal, a defense composed of Carlens Arcus, Hannes Delcroix, Jean-Kévin Duverne, and Duke Lacroix, with Carl Sainté, Danley Jean Jacques, Louicius Deedson, Fafà Picault, Ruben Providence, and Wilson Isidor. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who scored in the first leg, started on the bench.

At halftime, Bellegarde came on for Carl Sainté, who was booked in the 43rd minute, and Yassin Fortuné replaced Fafà Picault. Dany Jean entered in the 66th minute for Ruben Providence, Kenny Quetant in the 81st for Louicius Deedson, and Frantzdy Pierrot in the 89th for Wilson Isidor. Duke Lacroix was also booked, in the 32nd minute. For Costa Rica, goalscorer Andrey Soto left the pitch injured in the 65th minute, replaced by Anthony Hernández.

Group standings

After four matchdays, Curaçao leads Group A with 10 points. Haiti remains second with 9 points and a goal difference of +4, ahead of Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, who both have 6 points; the Dominican Republic, which has only played three matches, faces Nicaragua this Sunday evening. According to Vavel, a draw, or a defeat by a narrow margin, was enough for the Grenadiers to secure a place in the quarterfinals before this away game.

This defeat comes three days after Haiti's big 4-1 victory over the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo, and a week after their 2-0 success over this same Costa Rica at Sabina Park, in Jamaica, thanks to a goal from Bellegarde and an own goal by Francisco Calvo. For Costa Rica, led by interim head coach Bryan Ruiz, it is a second straight victory, following Thursday's success which ended a five-game losing streak; the Ticos had gone five matches without beating Haiti, according to Vavel.