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Costa Rica national football team

Men's association football team From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Costa Rica national football team
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The Costa Rica national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Costa Rica) represents Costa Rica in men's international football. The national team is administered by the Federación Costarricense de Fútbol (English: Costa Rican Football Federation), the governing body for football in Costa Rica. It has been a member of FIFA since 1927, it was a founding member of CONCACAF since 1961, and also a member of UNCAF since 1990.

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Costa Rica is the most successful Central American national football team, winning 3 CONCACAF Championship titles (1963, 1969, 1989) and 7 CCCF Championship titles (1941, 1946, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1961). Costa Rica is the only national team in Central America to have played in six FIFA World Cup editions. Costa Rica's national football team has the all-time highest average Football Elo Ranking in Central America with 1597.1, and the all-time highest Football Elo Ranking in Central America, with 1806 in 2014.

Since the late 1980s, the team has continuously been visible as a solidly competitive side and has been widely considered to be the second or third best team in the CONCACAF, with a prominent performance in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, making it to the knockout stage in their debut after finishing second in their group during the first phase, below Brazil. They also qualified for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. In 2014, Costa Rica achieved their best performance in history by finishing first in their group that consisted of three former World Cup champions: Uruguay, Italy, and England. During the round 16 they defeated Greece 5–3 via a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw. Moreover, during their match against the Greek team, Keylor Navas saved more than 15 shots. They reached the quarter-finals for the first time but were defeated by the Netherlands, also in a penalty shoot-out (3–4) after a scoreless draw on 5 July.[3][4] Both their 2018 and 2022 World Cup campaigns ended in a fourth place group stage exit, with their only points coming from a 2–2 draw against Switzerland in 2018 and a 1–0 win over Japan in 2022.

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History

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Early history

The national team made its debut in the Independence Centenary Games held in Guatemala City in September 1921, winning their first game 7–0 against El Salvador. In the final, Costa Rica defeated 6–0 Guatemala to claim the trophy.[5]

Costa Rica's team in the late 1940s acquired the nickname "The Gold Shorties".[6] Throughout the '50s and '60s, they were the second strongest team in the CONCACAF zone behind Mexico, finishing runners-up in World Cup qualifying in the 1958, 1962 and 1966 qualifiers. Stars of the side during this period included Ruben Jimenez, Errol Daniels, Leonel Hernandez and Edgar Marin. However, Costa Rica was not able to utilize this advantage, hence failed to reach any World Cup at that decade.

At the end of the 1960s their fortunes declined as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago and Canada rose in prominence.

1980s

Costa Rica failed to qualify for any of the World Cups in the 1970s and 1980s, and did not reach the final round of the CONCACAF qualifying until the 1986 qualifiers.

They participated in two consecutive Summer Olympic Games, in Moscow 1980 and in Los Angeles 1984. In 1980, Costa Rica competed against Yugoslavia, Finland and Iraq in Group D, losing 3–2, 3–0 and 3–0 respectively. In Los Angeles, the Ticos lost 3–0 against the United States, and 4–1 against Egypt, but beat a strong Italy team, which included Walter Zenga, Pietro Vierchowod, Franco Baresi and Aldo Serena, 1–0 with a goal by the midfielder Enrique Rivers.

1990 World Cup

Costa Rica won the 1989 CONCACAF Championship to qualify for the finals of a World Cup for the first time. In the first round of the qualifiers, they beat Panama 3–1 on aggregate after a 2–0 away victory in the second leg, with goals by Juan Cayasso and Hernán Medford. They were drawn against Mexico in the second round, but advanced automatically when their opponents were disqualified for age fraud.

Costa Rica started the final qualifying group stage with a home victory and an away defeat against both Guatemala and the United States. They drew 1–1 with Trinidad and Tobago and then beat the same opponents 1–0 at home with a goal by Cayasso. They achieved an important away win, 4–2 against El Salvador at the Estadio Cuscatlán, with goals from Carlos Hidalgo, Cayasso and a brace from Leonidas Flores, before beating El Salvador 1–0 in San José with a goal from Pastor Fernández. They finished first in the group table, ahead of the United States on goal difference.

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Source: RSSSF

Placed in Group C at the World Cup finals, Costa Rica began by beating Scotland 1–0 thanks to another goal by Cayasso. Although they lost to Brazil by the same score, they came from behind to beat Sweden 2–1 in their final group match to reach the knockout stages. There, they lost 4–1 to Czechoslovakia, for whom Tomáš Skuhravý scored a hat-trick.

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Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

2002 World Cup

The Ticos played first in qualification for the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. During the qualifiers, Costa Rica were coached by Brazilian Gílson Nunes, and then by the naturalised Brazilian, Alexandre Guimarães. The first qualifying group stage began with an unexpected 2–1 defeat to Barbados. After this humiliation, Costa Rica beat the United States 2–1 at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium, with goals from Rolando Fonseca and Hernán Medford. They then beat Guatemala 2–1 in the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, with two goals from Paulo Wanchope and Barbados 3–0 at the Ricardo Saprissa, with goals from Jafet Soto, Fonseca and Medford. A draw against the United States and a 2–1 defeat to Guatemala forced Costa Rica into a play-off against Guatemala in Miami. Costa Rica won 5–2 with two goals from Fonseca and one each from Wanchope, Reynaldo Parks and Jafeth Soto.

Costa Rica displayed fine attacking form during the final qualifying round, beginning with a 2–2 draw against Honduras at the Ricardo Saprissa, with goals from Fonseca and Rodrigo Cordero, and a 3–0 defeat of Trinidad and Tobago at the Morera Soto. Their only loss in this round came when the United States beat them 1–0. Costa Rica bounced back with a 2–1 win against Mexico in Mexico City, a match known as the Aztecazo,[7] with goals from Fonseca and Medford. Further wins over Jamaica, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago took Costa Rica to the brink of qualification, which they sealed with an emotional 2–0 win against the United States in the Saprissa, with a brace from Fonseca.

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Source: FIFA

In the finals, Costa Rica were drawn into Group C with Brazil, China, and Turkey. Their campaign started in Gwangju, where the Ticos beat China 2–0. In their second game against Turkey in Incheon, Winston Parks scored an 86th-minute goal to earn a 1–1 draw. Against Brazil, Costa Rica fought back from 3–0 down to 3–2 early in the second half, only to concede two further goals and lose 5–2. With Turkey beating China 3–0, Costa Rica finished behind Turkey on goal difference and were eliminated.

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Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

2006 World Cup

Costa Rica again managed to qualify for the World Cup finals in 2006, albeit with difficulties that saw their American coach Steve Sampson depart after they required away goals to beat Cuba in the preliminary phase. The Colombian Jorge Luis Pinto took over for the next round, which began with a disastrous 5–2 defeat at home against Honduras and a 2–1 loss in Guatemala. Costa Rica recovered with two wins over Canada and a resounding 5–0 triumph over Guatemala, when Wanchope scored a hat-trick and Carlos Hernández and Fonseca added further goals. Costa Rica advanced to the hexagonal round by winning the group.

In the final round they started with a 2–1 defeat against Mexico at the Saprissa, before beating Panama by the same score, with goals from Wayne Wilson and Roy Myrie. Pinto was dismissed after a goalless draw with Trinidad and Tobago, and Guimarães returned as coach. His first match ended in a 3–0 defeat to the United States, but wins followed against Guatemala, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago. Costa Rica decisively beat the United States in the Saprissa, 3–0, with a goal from Wanchope and two from Hernández, to guarantee their third World Cup qualification.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: [8]
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head points (3). Head-to-head goal difference: United States +1, Mexico −1.

On 9 June 2006, Costa Rica played their debut match in Munich in the opening match of the World Cup against the hosts, Germany. Wanchope scored to equalise after an early goal from Philipp Lahm, and later added another, but Costa Rica lost 4–2. They failed to match this encouraging performance in their remaining two games, losing 3–0 against Ecuador and 2–1 against Poland in a dead rubber.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
(H) Hosts

2010 World Cup

Costa Rica began the qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup against Grenada, winning 5–2 on aggregate (2–2, 3–0). They won all six games played in the next phase, against El Salvador (1–0, 3–1), Haiti (3–1, 2–0) and Suriname (7–0, 4–1).

With two games left in the Hexagonal round, Costa Rica trailed Honduras by one point in trying to win the third automatic qualification place behind the United States and Mexico. When Honduras lost 3–2 at home to the United States, Costa Rica overtook them with a 4–0 win against Trinidad and Tobago. Needing to win the final match in Washington, D.C. against the United States to ensure qualification, the Ticos led 2–0 at half-time, but Jonathan Bornstein scored an injury-time equaliser to draw the match 2–2. Meanwhile, Honduras's 1–0 victory over El Salvador moved them into third place in the group table on goal difference.

Costa Rica finished fourth, pushing them into a play-off with the fifth-placed team from the CONMEBOL region, Uruguay. The Ticos lost the first leg in San José 1–0, after a goal by Diego Lugano, and finished with ten men after Randall Azofeifa was sent off. In the second leg, played at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Sebastián Abreu put Uruguay ahead twenty minutes from time, and although Walter Centeno equalised, the 1–1 draw sent Uruguay to the World Cup finals, 2–1 on aggregate.

After failing to qualify, the team began a new era, with the young talent of players such as Azofeifa, Keylor Navas, Cristian Bolaños, Michael Barrantes and Joel Campbell. Rónald González was the interim coach before Ricardo La Volpe was appointed in September 2010. He lasted only ten months before being replaced by the Colombian, Jorge Luis Pinto, in his second spell in charge. During this period, Costa Rica played many friendlies against the top-ranked teams in the world, including the world champion Spain, most of them in the new national stadium, the Estadio Nacional, which was opened in 2011.

2014 World Cup

The Ticos' 2014 World Cup campaign began with a 2–2 draw against El Salvador in the third round of the qualifiers. They followed this with a 4–0 win over Guyana with a hat-trick by Álvaro Saborío. Two defeats to Mexico put the Ticos one defeat away from elimination, but they resurrected their campaign with a 1–0 win against El Salvador, with the only goal scored by José Miguel Cubero. They clinched a final round berth with a 7–0 win over Guyana, with goals scored by Randall Brenes, Saborío, Cristian Bolaños, Celso Borges and Cristian Gamboa.

The fourth round began with a 2–2 draw against Panama. In March, Costa Rica lost 1–0 against the United States in Denver, and launched an unsuccessful appeal against the match because of inclement weather.[9] Costa Rica again fell 1–0 to the United States in the Gold Cup that June.[10] Costa Rica then won 2–0 against Jamaica, beat Honduras 1–0 against, drew 0–0 at the Azteca against Mexico and won at home 2–0 against Panama. In September, they won 3–1 against the United States in San José.

On 10 September 2013, Costa Rica drew 1–1 with Jamaica, thanks to a goal from Brenes, to qualify with two games to spare. After a 1–0 loss at Honduras and 2–1 win over Mexico in October, Costa Rica finished second in the table, behind the United States.

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Source: [11]

Costa Rica were drawn in finals Group D against three previous tournament winners – Italy, England and Uruguay – and were given odds of 2500–1 to win the tournament.[citation needed] However, they beat Uruguay and Italy and drew 0–0 with England to finish top of the group and qualify for the knockout stage.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

In the second round, they beat Greece 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, seeing them through to the quarter-finals for the first time. There, they held the Netherlands to a 0–0 draw after extra time, before losing 4–3 on penalties. Costa Rica rose 12 places to 16th in the FIFA World Rankings. Former player Rónald González cited their long-term progress since 2007 as the reason for their achievement.[12]

2018 World Cup

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Costa Rica national team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia

The Ticos' qualification for the 2018 World Cup started with a bye to the fourth qualifying round, where they won five games and drew one, winning their group. In the final round, they finished second behind Mexico to qualify automatically, winning four matches, drawing four and losing two.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Costa Rica were drawn in Group E alongside Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia. Many key players from 2014 remained in the squad, but they made a disappointing exit at the group stage. Costa Rica lost their first two games, against Serbia and Brazil, without scoring, but drew 2–2 with Switzerland in their last match after equalising in injury time.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

2022 World Cup

The Ticos' qualification for the 2022 World Cup started with a bye to the final qualifying round. They finished fourth behind the United States to advance to inter-confederation play-offs winning seven matches, drawing four and losing three. In the inter-confederation play-offs in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Costa Rica won the match 1–0 against New Zealand and qualified for the World Cup.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: FIFA, CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
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On November 23, 2022, Costa Rica lost 7–0 against Spain, the biggest World Cup loss since 2010.[13] This match also tied for their worst defeat in professional football with a match against Mexico, which ended with Mexico 7–0 Costa Rica in Mexico Cityon 17 August 1975. After defeating Japan and scoring two goals against Germany in the first half, the latter scored three goals and eliminated Costa Rica.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
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Home stadium

Estadio Nacional is the home stadium of the Costa Rica national team since its opening on 10 January 2011 This venue hosts their friendly matches as well as the World Cup qualifying matches against CONCACAF rivals. Previous matches were played in Estadio Ricardo Saprissa or in Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto.[citation needed]

Team image

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Costa Rica's 2018 FIFA World Cup kit showcased in Limón

Costa Rica traditionally wears a red jersey with blue shorts and white socks. Their away kit historically was a Juventus-style black and white striped jersey with white shorts and white or black socks, due to these colors being the ones of CS La Libertad, one of the oldest clubs in Costa Rica. In the 1990 FIFA World Cup, the striped kit was used for two matches due to its resemblance to the home kit of FK Partizan of which Bora Milutinovic, then-coach of Costa Rica, was a fan.[14] However, after 1997, the striped kit was replaced by a white kit. In 2015, Boston-based sportswear company New Balance became the provider of the national team, after taking over for Italian company Lotto. Since 2023, Adidas is the kit provider for the national team.

Kit sponsorship

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Results and fixtures

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The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

26 March Friendly Argentina  3–1  Costa Rica Los Angeles, United States
20:00 UTC−7 Report
Stadium: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Referee: Josef Mickelson (United States)
31 May Friendly Costa Rica  0–0  Uruguay A' San José, Costa Rica
20:00 UTC−6 Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional
Referee: Óscar Barrera (El Salvador)
6 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Costa Rica  4–0  Saint Kitts and Nevis San José, Costa Rica
20:30 UTC−6
Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional
Attendance: 5,150
Referee: Julio Luna (Guatemala)
9 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Grenada  0–3  Costa Rica St. George's, Grenada
17:30 UTC−4 Report
Stadium: Kirani James Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 2,780
Referee: Steffon Dewar (Jamaica)
24 June 2024 Copa América GS Brazil  0–0  Costa Rica Inglewood, United States
18:00 UTC−7 Report Stadium: SoFi Stadium
Attendance: 67,158
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)
28 June 2024 Copa América GS Colombia  3–0  Costa Rica Glendale, United States
15:00 UTC−7
Report Stadium: State Farm Stadium
Attendance: 27,386
Referee: Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)
2 July 2024 Copa América GS Costa Rica  2–1  Paraguay Austin, United States
20:00 UTC−5 Report
Stadium: Q2 Stadium
Attendance: 12,765
Referee: Yael Falcón (Argentina)
5 September 2024–25 Nations League Costa Rica  3–0  Guadeloupe San José, Costa Rica
18:00 UTC−6
Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional
Attendance: 7,542
Referee: Katia García (Mexico)
9 September 2024–25 Nations League Guatemala  0–0  Costa Rica Guatemala City, Guatemala
20:00 UTC−6 Report Stadium: Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores
Attendance: 18,115
Referee: Daniel Quintero (Mexico)
11 October 2024–25 Nations League Suriname  1–1  Costa Rica Paramaribo, Suriname
19:00 UTC−3
Report Stadium: Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion
Attendance: 3,274
Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Mexico)
15 October 2024–25 Nations League Costa Rica  3–0  Guatemala San José, Costa Rica
18:00 UTC−6
Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional
Attendance: 20,450
Referee: Joseph Dickerson (United States)
14 November 2024–25 Nations League QF Costa Rica  0–1  Panama San José, Costa Rica
20:00 UTC−6 Report
Stadium: Estadio Nacional
Attendance: 29,201
Referee: Saíd Martínez (Honduras)
18 November 2024–25 Nations League QF Panama  2–2
(3–2 agg.)
 Costa Rica Panama City, Panama
21:00 UTC−5
Report
Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernández
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)
Note: Panama won 3–2 on aggregate, advanced to the Finals and qualified for the 2025 Gold Cup. Costa Rica advanced to the 2025 Gold Cup qualification.

2025

22 January Friendly United States  3–0  Costa Rica Orlando, United States
19:00 UTC−5
Report Stadium: Inter&Co Stadium
Attendance: 13,580
Referee: Cristhofer Corado (Guatemala)
21 March 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification Belize  0–7  Costa Rica Belmopan, Belize
20:00 UTC−6 Report
Stadium: FFB Stadium
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Adonis Carrasco (Dominican Republic)
25 March 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification Costa Rica  6–1
(13–1 agg.)
 Belize San José, Costa Rica
19:00 UTC−6
Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional
Referee: Julio Luna (Guatemala)
Note: Costa Rica won 13–1 on aggregate and qualified for the Finals.
7 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Bahamas  v  Costa Rica Wildey, Barbados
19:00 UTC−4 Stadium: BFA Technical Centre
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Coaching staff

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Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
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Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to the squad for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification matches against  Belize on 21 and 25 March 2025.[15]
Caps and goals as of 25 March 2025, after the match against Belize.

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Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last twelve months.

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Records

As of 14 November 2024[16]
Players in bold are still active with Costa Rica.

Most appearances

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Celso Borges is Costa Rica's most capped player with 163 appearances.
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Top goalscorers

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Rolando Fonseca is Costa Rica's all-time top scorer with 47 goals.
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Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

More information FIFA World Cup record, Qualification record ...
More information FIFA World Cup history, First match ...
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

More information CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record, Qualification record ...
More information CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup history, First match ...

CONCACAF Nations League

More information CONCACAF Nations League record, League phase / Quarter-finals ...
More information CONCACAF Nations League history, First match ...

Copa América

More information Copa América record, Year ...
*The 1993 Copa América was the first time nations from outside CONMEBOL were invited.

Copa Centroamericana

More information Copa Centroamericana record, Year ...

CCCF Championship

More information CCCF Championship record, Year ...

Olympic Games

More information Olympic Games record, Year ...

Pan American Games

More information Pan American Games record, Year ...

Panamerican Championship

More information Panamerican Championship record, Year ...
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Head-to-head record

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The following table shows Costa Rica's all-time international record, correct as of 19 November 2024.

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

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  1. include  Czechoslovakia
  2. include  Soviet Union
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Honours

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Costa Rica national football team players celebrating their classification at the FIFA World Cup 2014 for the round of 16 in first place of Group D at Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte after their draw with England.

Continental

Regional

Friendly

Awards

Summary

Only official honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation).

More information Senior Competition, Total ...
Notes
  1. Official senior competition organized by PFC. It was a unified confederation of the Americas, which was formed by NAFC, CCCF and CONMEBOL.
  2. Official senior competition organized by CCCF. It was a predecessor confederation of CONCACAF and affiliated with FIFA as the governing body of football in Central America and Caribbean, from 1938 to 1961.
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FIFA World Ranking

Last update was on 27 May 2021 Source:[17]

  Best Ranking    Worst Ranking    Best Mover    Worst Mover  

More information FIFA World Ranking History, Rank ...

See also

References

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