OSCAR Ramirez played as Costa Rica stunned Scotland not to mention the rest of world football by winning their opening game of Italia ’90.
Should Ramirez lead his country to a victory against the same opponents in a friendly international at Hampden this evening it will far less of an upset.
The Central American nation, who were playing in the World Cup for the first time in their history 28 years ago, have gone from strength to strength since making their debut.
They reached the quarter-final in Brazil four years ago after topping their qualifying group – they beat Italy and Uruguay and drew with England – and have qualified for the Russia 2018 finals.
But Ramirez, who will use this run-out as preparation for the summer, remembers how significant the stunning win over Andy Roxburgh’s side in Genoa had been to Costa Rica.
“It was important historically,” he said. “It was a very important game in the history of Costa Rican football of course, being the first match we had at the World Cup.
“It was a game that I imagine, even more here than in other places, it was a surprise. A nation who had never been to a World Cup before, winning that game, was a surprise.
“And it was an important kick-off point for our nation, in terms of qualifying and performing at World Cups.
“Since 1990 there has been a big development of Costa Rican football and, of course, our closest reference is what we did in Brazil in 2014. There is big expectation.
“Of course there is some expectation that we win this game. But we have to balance that with preparation for the World Cup.
“For this game, we’re looking at gaining rhythm and the level we need for the World Cup. Playing Scotland will help us with that.
“We also want to look at new players for the World Cup. That’s what we’re looking for from the game tomorrow.”
Ramirez added: “The idea is to play a team very similar to the side well pick in the World Cup, with some adjustments.
“Later in the game you’ll see some different substitutes. But the starting XI you will see is probably going to be the same as we’ll see in the World Cup.
‘We want to work on things we saw in the qualifiers. I know Scotland will have new players and a new coach. We want to develop things for the World Cup, also see some new players to watch before the World Cup."
Alex McLeish played for Scotland against Costa Rica back in 1990, but Ramirez, who played in midfield that day, confessed that he didn’t remember him and had watched a re-run of the game to refresh his memory.
“This is the second time this has happened,” he said. “My first game as national team coach was against Brazil who were managed by Dunga who I played against at Italia 90.
“I didn’t remember Alex playing on the field that day, so I went back and watched the video.
“I remember a lot of the play on my side in an intense game. It’s nice for me to see former players from this game.”
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