Costa Rica cancels Iraq friendly over passport issue

By: Falowo Oluwaseun Lawrence

The Costa Rica football Federation canceled their team's World Cup warmup against Iraq scheduled for Thursday due to an issue with the passports stamps at the border between Kuwait and Iraq.

The Costa Rican delegation, which was travelling to the match on Wednesday night by bus, had requested the Iraqi government not stamp its passports upon entry the country, but local border authorities did not honor the agreement and the side returned to its training camp in Kuwait

The match against Iraq was suspended," the Costa Rican federation said in a statement. "An agreement that was made with the non-stamping of passports was not respected and for this reason it was decided not to enter Iraq and cancel the match."

The friendly against Iraq was the last opportunity for coach Luis Fernando Suarez to test his players and give star goalkeeper Keylor Navas some playing with his teammates since they beat New Zealand in a World Cup playoff match on June 14 to secure a spot in Qatar.