Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio captained Costa Rica to the Copa Centroamericana championship on Sunday night, leading Los Ticos past Honduras 1-0 in the tournament final at Estadio Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The Claret-and-Cobalt’s leading scorer and the third leading scorer in MLS in 2012, Saborio started for Costa Rica on Sunday. He nearly scored in the game’s opening quarter hour, but had his attempt stopped thanks to a solid stop from Honduras goalkeeper Donis Escobar.
Sunday’s crown was Costa Rica’s seventh Copa Centroamericana, the most of any nation. As one of the top five finishers in the tournament, Saborio and Costa Rica qualified for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup that will be played from July 7-28 of this year. Rio Tinto Stadium will serve as a host venue for the tournament; the dates that the stadium will host games on will be announced in March.
Saborio and Costa Rica now turn their attention to their Feb. 6 CONCACAF Hexagonal opener at Panama. Saborio will return to Real Salt Lake following that match, joining the squad in Arizona for the start of its third and final leg of preseason at the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup from Feb. 11-24.
