HERRIMAN, Utah (Tuesday, September 20, 2022) – Real Salt Lake defender* Bryan Oviedo *has been named to the Costa Rica National Team for a pair of friendlies against South Korea on Friday, September 23 and Uzbekistan on Tuesday, September 27, both to be played in South Korea.
The pair of friendlies are likely to be the last tune up before the start of Costa Rica’s FIFA World Cup campaign, which is set to begin on November 23 against Spain.
Oviedo, 32, recently signed with Real Salt Lake in early August of this year and has already appeared three out of a possible four matches, including a start against LAFC.
OSince debuting with Costa Rica in 2010, Oviedo has been a mainstay for the Los Ticos, appearing in 72 matches, helping them qualify for the 2014, 2018 and, most recently, the 2022 FIFA World Cup. After an injury prevented him from making the 2014 World Cup roster, Oviedo returned in 2018, starting in two of the three group stages matches for Costa Rica. Earlier this summer he started against New Zealand in the 1-0 victory to secure the final place in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, Oviedo is currently ranked 25th all-time for appearances with the Costa Rica National Team.
With 43 points accumulated through 32 games of the 2022 MLS campaign, Real Salt Lake (11-11-10, 43pts, 8th West) is part of a four-team glut in the race for the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs. Now guided the last 44 games by former USA star Pablo Mastroeni, the Club’s sixth head coach in 18 seasons, RSL has the opportunity to qualify for the MLS postseason for the 12th time in 15 seasons and earn a home playoff match for the first time since 2019 with a successful finish. For the first time in Club history, RSL has opened the year with 16 consecutive sellouts in Sandy, Utah – the 8-3-5 (W-L-T) home record is amongst the best in MLS this season.
