Costa Rica Women's World Cup 2023 squad: Who's in & who's out?

Sporting San Jose's Daniela Solera could be given the massive responsibility of guarding her nation between the sticks. Solera was an integral part of her country's qualifying matches and Valverde will once again bank on the veteran to produce the goods.

Priscilla Tapia and Genesis Perez are two different profiles and are on opposite ends of the age scale. Perez is a budding name in the Costa Rican circle while Tapia has massive experience of wearing the national team's shirt on various occasions and both of them could be a decent backup option for Solera.

The Costa Rican side could field a formation with three centre-back with Herediano's defensive wall Mariana Benavides in the heart of the back line.

The duo of Valeria del Campo and Fabiola Villalobos will be responsible for keeping the backline organised and maintaining a solid shape considering they are not a physically brutal team. Despite Costa Rica not being the most physical side, Del Campo and Villalobos will not shy away from a tackle and will put their heart out to defend their nation at the biggest stage.

With the experience of Lixy Rodriguez and Daniela Cruz sidelined by manager Amelia Valverde, Las Ticas will bank on Gabriella Guillen to guard the flanks and also provide attacking threats during counter attacks.

Las Ticas' midfield could be the most crucial department if they hope to take their nation to new hearts in the showdown event.

The most significant names in Valverde's roster are evidently in this catalogue of players and the manager has the responsibility to field a strong midfield to give the side their best shot at galloping towards the knockout phases.

Portland Thorns' Raquel Rodriguez has bagged 55 goals in her 100 caps for her national side and could be a thorn in the side of the opposing team.

Costa Rica's vice-captain and Deportivo Saprissa's midfield general, Katherine Alvarado already has 132 caps to her name and she will be vying to produce some outstanding performances for her side. Costa Rica have only scored 3 goals in a World Cup and Alvarado had assisted two out of them and will once again play a crucial role in Australia.

Glasgow City's prodigy Priscilla Chinchilla will be operating her tricks in between the two lines and the attacking midfielder is touted as a diamond in the making by many pundits heading into the tournament. The 21-year-old has already bagged 20 goals for her country as she approaches her 50th game for her nation

Bordeaux's star Melissa Herrera has thrived as a goalscorer and an attacking midfielder in the recent past for both club and country and will once again be an influential cog in binding the two departments together.

Creative by nature, Herrera can chip in with crucial goals throughout the course of the game and has an exemplary vision and creative skills to partner up with her goalscoring abilities.

Valverde has multiple options in her attacking department with the manager most likely to opt for a central striker and another forward to operate right behind the former. Deportivo Saprissa's duo of Sofia Varela and Catalina Estrada could be handed the responsibility of leading the nation's attacking battery.

While Maria Paula Salas could also be given a start by the manager considering her goalscoring abilities and her knack for smelling an opportunity and unleashing thunderous strikes in the back of the net.

The Costa Rican side has been unpredictable when choosing a tactical formation balancing equally between a 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1.

But with Valverde often opting for a structure with 3 central defenders a 3-5-2 looks more apt and could give the underdogs a chance of galloping away on the counter while maintaining defensive stability.

Daniela Solera is tipped to start in goal with Valverde trusting her in the qualifiers of the World Cup with Mariana Benavides, Valeria Del Campo, and Fabiola Villalobos as the three defenders in front of her.

When defending Katherine Alvarado could be seen operating as a single pivot with Cristin Granados and Raquel Rodriguez weaving their magic on either side. Costa Rica will look to switch to a 4-2-3-1 when they are on the attack with Alvarado being supported by Granados in a double pivot providing stability to defend counters and also giving attacking support.

Priscila Chinchilla and Maria Paula Salas could be seen leading the line with Salas as the sole striker and the Glasgow City striker supporting her from behind.

Costa Rica XI (3-5-2): Solera ;Del Campo, Benavides, Villalobos; Guillen, Rodriguez, Alvarado, Granados, Coto; Salas, Chinchilla

The biggest absentee for the Costa Rican side is former captain Shirely Cruz. After being left out of the provisional squad by manager Valverde, the veteran decided to hang up her boots in June owing to the disappointment after being axed.

Costa Rica will definitely miss the services of the midfielder who would bring massive experience to the side but her absence can open the doors for youngsters to step in and shine at the biggest stage.

The full-back duo of Lixy Rodriguez and Daniel Cruz also failed to make the final cut as Costa Rica's manager dropped them both from the provisional squad. Both the defenders are 32 years old and have been replaced by fresher legs in Valverde's defensive line considering the tough group Costa Rica is in.