Costa Rica’s national team and Chaves government had every advantage, and both squandered the opportunity

Costa Rica’s national football team and the government of Rodrigo Chaves had unusually favorable conditions, yet both failed to turn them into results, according to this column.

The national team faced what the article calls the most accessible qualifying group in its history, but did not reach the 2026 World Cup. The government, meanwhile, operated in what the column describes as the clearest fiscal environment of the past two decades.

The article rejects any attempt to credit the administration for achievements that, in its view, the figures do not support. It says the government faced no pandemic, no strikes and no pending reform, while also benefiting from generous external financing and a favorable exchange rate.

Despite that setting, the column says the government’s key indicators ended up worse than they were when it received them. Its central argument is that neither the football team nor the administration can claim significant merit when the conditions were so favorable and the outcomes fell short.