SAN JOSÉ (DA) — The Curaçao men’s national team produced a remarkable second-half turnaround Thursday night, scoring four unanswered goals after a lackluster opening 45 minutes to defeat Costa Rica 4-3 in the CONCACAF Nations League at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá.
Kenji Gorré scored twice, while Tahith Chong and Jordi Paulina also found the net after all three came off the bench. Their introduction transformed a match Curaçao appeared to have lost control of before halftime.
Costa Rica needed only three minutes to take the lead through Orlando Sinclair. Carlos Mora doubled the advantage in the 23rd minute and struck again in first-half stoppage time to send the hosts into the break ahead 3-0.
Curaçao’s 61% possession in the first half did little to trouble Costa Rica. The Blue Wave managed only 2 shots and created no big chances, while Costa Rica produced 6 attempts and took full advantage of its opportunities.
Paulina acknowledged afterward how poorly Curaçao had opened the match.
“We didn’t start well obviously. The coach said some things and the players understood what they had to do.”
Coach Dick Advocaat initially kept his starting lineup intact after halftime, but his changes shortly before the hour mark altered the game.
Gorré replaced Jearl Margaritha and Chong came on for Ar’Jany Martha in the 57th minute. Paulina replaced Jürgen Locadia one minute later.
Within five minutes, the comeback had begun.
Gorré scored in the 62nd minute to cut the deficit to 3-1. Chong followed in the 66th, reducing Costa Rica’s advantage to a single goal and putting the Blue Wave firmly back in the contest.
The pressure continued.
Gorré scored his second in the 78th minute to complete Curaçao’s recovery from 3-0 down and level the match at 3-3.
Four minutes later, the turnaround was complete.
Paulina, the third of Advocaat’s attacking substitutes, struck in the 82nd minute to give Curaçao its first lead of the night at 4-3. All four Curaçao goals came in a 20-minute stretch, and all were scored by players involved in the second-half changes.
The difference between the two halves was reflected in the numbers. After producing only 2 shots before halftime, Curaçao registered 10 in the second half and created 5 big chances. Costa Rica managed 4 second-half attempts and no big chances.
Costa Rica still had an opportunity to equalize late, but goalkeeper Eloy Room stopped an effort from Doryan Rodríguez in the 87th minute as the Blue Wave protected the advantage through stoppage time.
The victory also gave Curaçao its first CONCACAF Nations League win over Costa Rica. The countries previously met twice in the inaugural edition of the competition in 2019, drawing 0-0 in Costa Rica before the Ticos won 2-1 in Willemstad.
Curaçao has recovered from significant deficits before. One notable example came in Caribbean Cup qualifying in 2014, when the team trailed Puerto Rico 2-0 before goals from Prince Mathilda and Shelton Martis produced a 2-2 draw.
Thursday’s recovery went further: Curaçao came back from three goals down and turned the deficit into a victory, completing a 4-3 result after entering halftime without a goal and seemingly with a mountain to climb.