New Costa Rica Coach Faces Early Problems
Rene Simoes is the new soccer of Costa Rica,
and has problems after one day on the job.
He was hired Wednesday, a day after Rodrigo
Kenton was fired after three straight losses
during World Cup qualifying.
The Brazilian coach had hoped to assemble
his team two weeks before its final group
qualifying games Oct. 10 at home against
Trinidad and Tobago and Oct. 14 in
Washington against the United States.
On Thursday, the directors of two clubs,
Saprissa and Cartagines, said they would not
give up their players for two weeks to the
national team.
"This was negotiated beforehand with
first-division teams," Costa Rica federation
president Eduardo Li said.
Costa Rica is trying to reach its third
straight World Cup. It once led the North
and Central American and Caribbean region
but is now fourth with 12 points following
losses to Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador.
The U.S. leads with 16 points, one ahead of
Mexico and three in front of Honduras.
The top three teams qualify automatically
and the No. 4 team faces a playoff with the
fifth-place team in South America. The
fifth-place team in South America is
currently Argentina.
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