Costa Rica's national team has played in six World Cups. The most famous moment came in 2014 in Brazil, when tiny Costa Rica beat much bigger teams like Uruguay, Italy and Greece, and reached the quarter-finals. The whole country watched together. Schools paused. Streets emptied.
Most Costa Rican towns have a football pitch in the middle, often right next to the church and the school. Even the smallest village has a flat patch of grass with two goals at each end. Children play barefoot or in plimsolls - whatever they have.
The two biggest Costa Rican club teams are Saprissa (purple shirts) and Alajuelense (red and black). When they play each other, it is called El Clásico. Families pick a side - sometimes the way English families pick Liverpool or Manchester United - and stay loyal forever.
Costa Rica has produced some of the best goalkeepers in the world. The most famous is Keylor Navas. He grew up in a small Costa Rican town, started in goal because he was the youngest on the team and nobody else wanted to play there - and ended up winning some of the biggest trophies in world football.

