Costa Rica announce 30-man preliminary World Cup squad - Bryan Oviedo misses out

Costa Rica’s 30-man provisional World Cup squad announced

Costa Rica announced their preliminary 30-man squad for the 2014 World Cup on Monday. Coach Jorge Luis Pinto didn’t name any major surprises and confirmed that the final 23-man squad will be announced on May 31.

Everton starlet Bryan Oviedo, who was injured in January, has failed to recover and will thus miss the World Cup. Fulham’s on loan striker Bryan Ruiz will captain the squad. Pinto picked most of his core players from the qualification stages, who helped Costa Rica qualify as the top rated team from the CONCACAF region.

Costa Rica’s chances of getting past the group stages rests on key players like Keylor Navas, on loan Arsenal forward Joel Campbell, and Alvaro Saborio. They are considered underdogs in a group that consists of European giants England, Italy and Uruguay.

Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas, Patrick Pemberton, Daniel Cambronero, Esteban Alvarado.

Defenders: Johnny Acosta, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Michael Umana, Oscar Duarte, Waylon Francis, Heiner Mora, Junior Diaz, Christian Gamboa, Roy Miller, Kendall Waston

Midfielders: Celso Borges, Christian Bolanos, Esteban Granados, Michael Barrantes, Yeltsin Tejeda, Diego Calvo, Jose Miguel Cubero, Carlos Hernandez, Ariel Rodriguez, Hansell Arauz

Forwards: Alvaro Saborio, Bryan Ruiz, Joel Campbell, Randall Brenes, Marco Urena, Jairo Arrieta