Arias Happy With Sele's Game
President Oscar Arias said on Monday that he was happy with the game played by the sele - national soccer team - but unhappy with its early exit from the World Cup.

"In the first match I sat with (World Cup organizer) Franz Beckenbauer and the Germany chancellor. We didn't think for a moment that we could win, but a 4-2 loss was a dignified start," he said.

But Costa Rica has to boost the quality of its game before it can be compared with the world's great soccer powerhouses, something that is not just about resources, he said.

"There are many countries that have great soccer without much money. Is Brazil a rich country? The difference is that there, children first learn to kick a ball on Copacabana beach then learn to work. That is how you do it," he said.

He said that Costa Rica has to make an effort to improve its weak soccer skills and that this will be demonstrated in Tuesday's game with Poland.

"Let's hope we win, so that we don't come back from Germany with three losses. But we have to accept that the World Cup has not gone well for us," he said.

He urged Costa Ricans not to blame the team's manager, Brazilian-born Alexander Guiamaraes.

"It seems unjust to heap all the blame on him. I am not saying that if the government is bad you should not blame the president, but neither does the president have sole responsibility," Arias said.

Costa Rica was eliminated from the tournament, with one game to go, after a 0-3 loss to Ecuador. It was the worst performance by the nation in the three World Cups it has qualified for. The previous two tournaments were in 1990 and 2002 respectively.