Plagued by a 40 hour trip and assaulted by a pumped up Iranian squad, Costa Rica gave up 2 goals in the first 20 minutes.  Once the Iranians took their foot (feet?) off the gas, the Ticos recovered and were able to equalize the action on the pitch with a 1-1 tie in the second part of the first half.

Costa Rica scored again in the 2nd half but was unable to tie the game.  Local media pointed out that the Tricolor did not play as a team, mostly due to lack of any preparation time whatsoever and many new faces, and that the match was more a group of players looking to make a spot for themselves on the World Cup squad.

Iranian press also criticized Costa Rica for fielding a squad lacking most of the players who will open the World Cup against Germany on June 9th. The sports daily Khabar said “Costa Rica did not take us seriously and brought their B squad to Iran. We cannot fool ourselves and think that we beat the same squad that will open the World Cup.”