In Group C of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Costa Rica soon qualified for the quarter-finals after 2 wins 3-1 over Guadeloupe and 2-1 over Surinam. They will have a top-flight match with Jamaica at 6am (Vietnam time) on July 21. With just a draw, Costa Rica will keep the top spot, thereby avoiding the US in the quarter-finals.
Two former strikers who have played for Ho Chi Minh City club, Ariel Rodriguez and Jose Gu Gu Gu Ortiz, have also been called up to the Costa Rica national team this time. They, along with Joel Campell (former Arsenal striker), are the three strikers called up by coach Luiz Fernando Suarez to participate in this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Jose Ortiz and Ariel Rodriguez have both started in their last two matches, but have not scored or assisted. However, they still receive a lot of encouragement and motivation from their teammates, because both of them have been in good form in the last season.
Ariel Rodriguez wears Costa Rica's Deportivo Sprissa shirt. Here, he made a great contribution to helping the Clausura 2021 championship team. In the second leg of the final against C.S Herediano, Ariel Rodriguez scored the only goal to help Sprissa win 1-0. Thanks to that, the team won 4-2 to be crowned champion in a spectacular way.
Jose Ortiz wears the Deportes Tolima team jersey in the Colombian National Championship after leaving Ho Chi Minh City. The striker born in 1992 has played 21 matches, scoring 3 goals for the home team in domestic and continental tournaments. Notably, he joined the champion Torneo Apertura 2021 team after defeating the famous team Millonarios 3-2 after 2 first and second leg finals.
Previously, Ariel Rodriguez and Jose Ortiz were bought by Ho Chi Minh City to compete in the second phase of V.League 2020. The Thong Nhat Stadium team has spent an estimated amount of 1 million USD (more than 23 billion VND) to recruit this two famous Costa Rica football strikers. However, they could not integrate with Ho Chi Minh City due to big differences in playing style, language, lifestyle... During their time playing in Vietnam, these two strikers only scored 3 goals.
At the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, coach Luiz Fernando Suarez set a goal to help Costa Rica aim for the championship for the first time in history. If successful, the two former players of Ho Chi Minh City will have a memorable international title. In addition, Ariel Rodriguez and Jose Ortiz are very determined, to show themselves, thereby having the opportunity to participate in the qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in the CONCACAF region starting in September.
