Costa Rica Tops Uruguay, 3-1, in Opening Play at World Cup

Above: the Estadio Castelao in Brazil

By the Caribbean Journal staff

In a major upset, Costa Rica opened up its World Cup play with a 3-1 victory over Uruguay on Saturday afternoon.

Uruguay got off to an early lead when Edinson Cavani converted a penalty kick, and it remained 1-0 until the 54th minute when Costa Rica’s Joel Campbell evened the score with a left-footer from the middle of the box.

Three short minutes later, Duarte put Costa Rica ahead with a header from the left side in the 57th minute.

In the 84th minute, Costa Rica padded its lead with a goal by Marcos Ureya from the right side.

Uruguay dominated the possession game, holding on to the ball for 56 percent of the game, although each team had three shots on goal.

Walter Gargano and Diego Lugano both received yellow cards for Uruguay.

Saturday’s game was held at the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza, Brazil.

This year is Costa Rica’s fourth-ever appearance in World Cup play. Its best-ever finish was in the round of 16 in the 1990 World Cup, which was its first.