[7][8] As international football activity resumed in October, Costa Rica scheduled two friendly matches at home against Panama, losing both and sparking criticism from Central American media.
Writing for La República, Wálter Herrera pointed that Rónald González was the coach with the worst performance of the last twenty years.
[17] With Suárez, Costa Rica competed at the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup winning all three of their group stage matches after defeating Guadeloupe, Suriname, and Jamaica.
After a scoreless draw as visitors against Panama, Suárez decided to leave young forward Manfred Ugalde as a substitute in the following games at home against Mexico and Jamaica.
[25] The second half of the round began on 16 November 2021; that night, as Costa Rica was drawing a home match against Honduras, their gap against the Panamanians almost increased to seven points;[26] however, a late goal by Gerson Torres gave a crucial victory for the Ticos, which would start a comeback for the team that extended through 2022.