Nashville SC’s Randall Leal has been called up by the Costa Rican national team for their pre-Olympic qualifying training camp and friendlies. Costa Rica will play a pair of matches against Honduras in preparation for their March qualifiers.
Leal, 24, has already been capped 17 times for the senior side, but with the 2020 Olympics delayed a year due to Covid, he’ll still be eligible to compete (the typical U-23 cutoff has been extended a year due to the delays).
Leal will be in camp with Costa Rica from February 15-25. The camp will finish with a pair of matches against Honduras, first on February 23 at Estadio Nacional, and second on February 25 at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa.
Costa Rica has been drawn into Group A for Olympic qualifiers. They’ll play the United States on March 18, Mexico on March 21, and the Dominican Republic on March 24 to decide if they’ll head to Tokyo in the summer.
If Costa Rica qualifies for the Olympics, Leal will certainly be in consideration to participate. Costa Rica is also a top seed in the 2021 Gold Cup, and Leal has been a key member of their full squad. With the Olympics scheduled from July 22 through August 7, and the Gold Cup for July 10 through August 1, head coach Rónald González Brenes will have to decide which tournament Leal will participate in.
