Canada v Costa Rica: Co-hosts in the last-chance saloon

Experienced midfielder Julian de Guzman says Canada still believe they can progress out of Group B in the CONCACAF Gold Cup going into Tuesday’s clash with Costa Rica.

Benito Floro’s side have taken just one point from their opening two games in the competition – a late Rodolph Austin strike against Jamaica last time out condemning them to a 1-0 defeat.

The co-hosts’ hopes of making the knockout stages for the first time since 2009 remain alive with only Jamaica having secured their place in the top three spots.

And De Guzman – who returned from injury to feature in the reversal against Jamaica – has challenged his team-mates to keep the faith and gain the win they need if they are to stand a chance of reaching the next round against Paulo Wanchope’s men.

“In the end we lost a little bit of concentration and conceded the goal that put us behind in the group,” explained the Ottawa Fury man, whose side will play in Toronto this week following fixtures in California and Texas.

“It just comes down to us getting a win against Costa Rica and the one advantage we have is that we’re playing at home.

“Going into Canada will give us confidence to get a win. It’s still there for us, I know the guys won’t feel happy about the result [versus Jamaica] and it’s just a matter of bouncing back.

“We know that we’ll have the crowd behind us. We still believe that we can walk out of this group with four points.”

Wanchope’s Costa Rica have endured a frustrating tournament so far, following up their 2-2 draw with Jamaica by throwing away three points against El Salvador.

Dustin Corea’s last-gasp equaliser prompted tough questions for the former Derby County man to answer, with Wanchope dismissing suggestions that his substitutions had cost him dear.

West Brom full-back Cristian Gamboa could figure in Toronto following a knee injury, with assistant coach Luis Antonio Marin backing Costa Rica to deliver when it matters.

“It’s a final for us and also for them, so we will play it as such,” the assistant explained

“We have to keep working at what we believe in, that is what will get us out of this group, we must give something extra to make sure it [elimination] does not happen to us.”