The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is Costa Rica. Three-time CONCACAF Gold Cup winners Costa Rica have a proud footballing history, including five World Cup Finals appearances. Six Costa Ricans have appeared in the Premier League.
First Player – Paulo Wanchope (Derby, West Ham, Man City; 1997-2004)
One of the most iconic Premier League debuts of all time came back in 1997 when Paulo Wanchope dribbled from his own half to score a brilliant goal as Derby County shocked Manchester United at Old Trafford.
An enigmatic figure, Wanchope became a cult hero at Derby and later West Ham and Manchester City, scoring 50 goals in 156 Premier League appearances.
Wanchope also bagged 45 goals in 73 matches for Costa Rica and is currently their second-highest scorer of all time. He briefly managed the national side between 2014 and 2015 but resigned after being filmed in an altercation with a steward after a match.
Records
- Most Appearances – Paulo Wanchope (156)
- First appearance – Paulo Wanchope (Man United 2-3 DERBY, April 5th 1997)
- Most goals – Paulo Wanchope (50)
- First goal – Paulo Wanchope (Man United 2-3 DERBY, April 5th 1997)
Current/Most Recent Players
The last Costa Rican to appear in the Premier League was Bryan Oviedo, who made the last of his Premier League appearances for Everton and Sunderland in 2016/17. Bryan Ruiz, Christian Gamboa and Joel Campbell have also featured within the last decade, while Mauricio Solís made several appearances for Derby in the late 1990s.
Trivia
- Costa Rica are one of 16 CONCACAF nations to have featured in the Premier League.
- Two of the nine Costa Ricans with more than 100 caps have appeared in the Premier League (Ruiz and Solís).
- Paulo Wanchope is one of only two Costa Ricans to have scored in more than one World Cup Finals tournament (also Ronald Gomez; Bryan Ruiz’s late penalty against Switzerland in 2018 was credited as an own goal meaning he has only scored in the 2014 World Cup).
