MIAMI, Florida – The 2022 Concacaf W Championship kicks off July 4 in Monterrey, Mexico with eight teams in pursuit of lifting the trophy and proclaiming themselves champions of women’s football in the Concacaf region.
Each of the eight teams boast a special kind of player who is capable of making a play that can change the course of a game and swing things in their team’s favor.
For Costa Rica, that player is FW Raquel Rodriguez.
At age 28, one could make the argument that Rodriguez is in her prime and has the combination of skill and experience to lead the Ticas to another FIFA Women’s World Cup and perhaps a first ever Concacaf title.
Whenever Rodriguez takes the field for Costa Rica, it is a good bet that she will find the back of the net. In 73 Senior Team appearances, she has 43 goals, with 16 of those scores coming in just 21 CWC matches (including qualifying).
It is under the bright lights of the CWC and CWC Qualifying where fans seem to see the very best of Rodriguez. She scored three goals in 2010, three goals in 2014, followed by four goals in 2018 and another six goals in 2018. Those trends indicate that Rodriguez is poised for a massive breakout in Monterrey after notching four goals in 2022 CWC Qualifying.
The Portland Thorns player also has a knack for making history for her country. She was the first Costa Rican player to score in a Youth Women’s World Cup, doing so at the 2008 Under-17 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. Seven years later, she became the first Costa Rican to score in a Senior Women’s World Cup when she tallied against Spain in the group stage at Canada 2015.
Rodriguez has also been a force for Costa Rica in the Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, scoring six goals in CWOQ for London 2012 and then another three goals in just three games in CWOQ for Tokyo 2020.
For Costa Rica to reach another Women’s World Cup, they will need their top players to deliver special moments in Monterrey, and Rodriguez is just the type of game-changer who can do it.
