Costa Rica's Suarez feels the heat in Fort Lauderdale after Panama loss

February 27 - Costa Rica coach Luis Suarez will have to pick up the pieces amid growing calls for his resignation after a dismal 2-1 defeat in their Gold Cup opener against Panama.

Overpowered and outclassed for much of the 90 minutes, the Costa Ricans were lethargic and a shadow of their former selves, a respected powerhouse in the region and a regular at World Cup finals, including the edition 2022 where they lost heavily against Germany and Spain will be eliminated in the first round.

The Florida crowd reacted to the tasteless performance with chants of "Fuera Suarez!" Fuera Suárez!

Those sentiments were echoed by the media at a tense press conference, where Suarez (pictured) looked shaken and defensive, peppered with demands to resign. Journalists asked him no less than five times if he would resign.

Suarez replied, "I always think you have to fight until the end, and I have done that all my life. There are hard times, but the answer is finding solutions, not hide and run away."

The Costa Rican coach had already been under pressure ahead of the tournament and the lack of reaction from his side, which at no point seemed in control or comfortable against their neighbours, drew further criticism after a disappointing World Cup campaign and failure to reach the Nations League final due to two losses to Panama, suggesting their local rivals have passed them. In preparation for the Gold Cup, the Ticos lost friendly matches against Ecuador and Guatemala.

He insisted that Costa Rica had to 'move on' with hard work both technically and mentally, but how Suarez can escape the pressure and Costa Rica recover from their first loss remains to be seen.

On Friday, the Ticos take on El Salvador in New Jersey in a deciding game that could go a long way in determining Suarez's future.

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