National Team Friendly

National stadium
Spectators: 10301 (Terracing: 7726, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Leonel Chavarria took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 4th minute of the match, Juan Fernando Quintero got a very nice opportunity to score, but Ruben Sancho was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. After 8 minutes, Juan Fernando Quintero mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Argentina and the Costa Rica players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 8th match minute, Argentina was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Juan Fernando Quintero to maneuver through the defense. An unexpectedly hard shot by Baltazar Redondo in the 13th minute of play forced Argentina's goalkeeper Jose Chilavert to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 17 played minutes Argentina got a freekick which was hit by Gui Bot. Costa Rica's Ruben Sancho proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 20th minute of the match, managed to save Costa Rica from getting a goal against them. Jose Chilavert showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mariano Madrigal, who was totally free with the ball in the 23rd minute. Ruben Sancho showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Teodoro Goito in the 24th minute of the match. Argentina's Hernan Loren managed, thanks to a brazen rush, stole the ball on a throw-in made by Walter Rosales in the 29 minute of the game. Nino Jara received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 31st minute. Jose Chilavert tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 32nd minute, Walter Rosales hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Teodoro Goito recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 34th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Walter Rosales hit a great freekick 38 minutes into the match.

Costa Rica made a substitution. Alberto Garro replaced Nino Jara. The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Juan Fernando Quintero was the one to do the kick off. Ruben Sancho took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Teodoro Goito, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 65 minutes into the match, Argentina's goalkeeper Jose Chilavert had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Baltazar Redondo. In the 66th minute, Baltazar Redondo left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Costa Rica fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. Rafa Blasco was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 70 minutes into the match. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 69th minute of the game. One of Argentina:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Costa Rica:s goal. Ruben Sancho made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Teodoro Goito in the 75th minute of play. After 77 minutes, Teodoro Goito made it 2-1 with a short kick to the right side. Costa Rica's Ruben Sancho tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. Teodoro Goito struck a weak shot in the 83rd minute. Ruben Sancho didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Argentina. In the 91st minute, Lukáš Martínez Quarta hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Irvin Arguedas took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 91st minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Jose Chilavert. Argentina's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. In the 98th minute, Yuriy Vraštil hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Argentina fans cheered their team off the field, for while Costa Rica had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.