00:03Mexico and the U.S. dominate the CONCACAF region.
00:09Since FIFA's records began, only one other CONCACAF country has held a higher ranking.
00:15Costa Rica, following their stunning performances at the 2014 World Cup.
00:23Viewed as the Easybeats in a group of death,
00:25Los Ticos defeated Uruguay and Italy and drew with England
00:30to progress to the knockout phase for only the second time in their history.
00:36We are realistic and we knew that, you know, of course,
00:40the world would expect either Uruguay, Italy or England to go through.
00:44I mean, that's normal because of the history and the resources,
00:50all the facilities that the other teams have.
00:53But, I mean, nowadays, when you have talent players
01:00and when you work very hard, you have a chance.
01:05Costa Rica then squeaked past Greece on penalties
01:08before coming unstuck in the same fashion against the Netherlands.
01:152014 was also the year Costa Rica won the last of the eight Copa Centroamericana titles.
01:21The tournament, which ran biennially from 1991 to 2017, featured only Central American nations.
01:29And La Sele only failed to make the final twice.
01:36This high point of Costa Rican football contained the country's most notable players,
01:41including Keylor Navas, who won a hat-trick of UEFA Champions Leagues with Real Madrid.
01:57Being in the national team is an amazing feeling.
02:00The national team of the place where I was born, the place where I grew up, of my flag.
02:07I always tell people that when I'm in the stadium, at the Bernabeu, or any stadium,
02:13and to see all the flags of Costa Rica for me is super exciting.
02:18It's one of the things that fills me with pride,
02:21seeing that Costa Ricans no longer go just because they can pay for it,
02:25but because there is a Costa Rican there.
02:32And to see how people wave their flags is something that makes me want to cry because of the emotion.
02:38And for me to defend the goal of our national team is all there is.
02:49CONCACAF's fourth team varies,
02:50as the region's less powerful nations ride short-term cycles.
02:58In recent years, that has been Canada,
03:01boosted by the emergence of world-class talents Alfonso Davies,
03:05Jonathan David, and Kyle Lahren.
03:11Canada are the only country outside the USA and Mexico to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
03:17But their status on the wider international scene is reflected in their World Cup statistics,
03:23which, after Qatar 2022, read,
03:26played six, lost six.
03:31Canada's ascent has knocked Jamaica down the regional pecking order.
03:38The reggae boys emerged as a force in the Caribbean in the mid-1990s,
03:43qualifying for their debut World Cup in 1998.
03:48And while that appearance was a one-off,
03:51it laid the foundations for a football program that went on to dominate the CFU Caribbean Cup,
03:57followed by a second wave of success from the mid-2010s,
04:01with Jamaica consistently threatening to win a maiden CONCACAF Gold Cup.
04:10The first CONCACAF nation to qualify for the World Cup,
04:13other than Mexico and the US,
04:15was actually Cuba.
04:19The 1938 World Cup was staged in France,
04:23a decision poorly received outside Europe,
04:26with expectations the tournament would return to South America
04:29after the 1934 World Cup in Italy.
04:33Consequently, all nations in South America except Brazil withdrew,
04:38and all CONCACAF nations except Cuba,
04:41so the two qualified by default.
04:47In a curious, knockout-only tournament,
04:50the Cubans drew with Romania in their opening match,
04:53then beat them in a replay,
04:56before being hammered 8-0 by Sweden.
04:59They have barely left a mark on the international game since.
05:05Other one-hit wonders include Haiti,
05:08who lost all three matches at the 1974 World Cup,
05:12the Dwight York-inspired Trinidad and Tobago,
05:15who became the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup in 2006,
05:20and Panama, who failed to win a point at Russia 2018.
05:28El Salvador have made two visits to football's greatest stage,
05:32and Honduras three,
05:34but collectively, they have yet to earn a win.
05:39They have a win.
05:39El Salvador has the ignominious record of being on the receiving end
05:43of the biggest thrashing in World Cup history,
05:46when they were demolished 10-1 by Hungary in 1982.
05:53While Honduras were on the wrong end of the first use of goal-line technology
05:57to award a World Cup goal,
05:59when France were awarded an own goal by Honduras' goalkeeper,
06:03Noel Valladares, in 2014.
06:06Thank you very much.
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