CONCACAF: Rodrigo Kenton On Hot Seat

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225px-Rodrigo_Kenton

Until last month, Rodrigo Kenton had done a remarkable job as Costa Rican Manager. Replacing Hernan Medford, a playing legend after the Ticos struggled to get past Grenada in the second round of CONCACAF qualifying; Kenton had racked up ten wins, and one loss in eleven qualifying matches.

But in its last two matches, The Ticos have been outscored seven goals to nil, including an embarrassing 3-0 home loss to rival Mexico. What looked like certain World Cup qualification is now at best 50-50, and more likely going to be very difficult.

Now Costa Rica travels to El Salvador, a place where they won 3-1 in the last qualifying round. But given the Salvadorians near dominant performance against the Ticos in the first match of this summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, and Costa Rica’s recent form, this game is going to be difficult.

Kenton’s panicky squad changes after losing to Honduras in August, helped to further unsettle team. Right now, Costa Rica looks a sure bet in its current form to finish 4th in Hexagonal and thus be forced to play off with the fifth place team from COMNEBOL.

Published reports out of Costa Rica indicate that if Medford does not right the ship this Wednesday in San Salvador, he may be sacked. This would represent a dramatic and shocking turn of events for a coach who looked assured of making the World Cup, just one month ago.

Category : CONCACAFWorld Cup Qualifying