Hearts player at the centre of an international mystery in Guatemala

Hearts forward Kenneth Vargas was at the centre of an international mystery in Guatemala yesterday as he was left out of Costa Rica’s squad for a CONCACAF Nations League match. The 22-year-old’s absence was noted by media and fans at the Estadio Nacional Mateo Flores as his country drew 0-0 with their hosts.

SNS

Vargas missed Costa Rica’s 3-0 victory at home to Guadeloupe last Thursday due to injury, but he was fit for their second match in Guatemala City. Los Ticos’ interim national coach Claudio Vivas admitted that an administration issue meant Vargas could not be named among his team’s substitutes, although he refused to elaborate. He named only 11 subs rather than the regulation 12.

“Kenneth Vargas was left out of the list last Thursday because he had a serious blow to his instep and was not 100%,” stated Vivas when questioned on the matter. “Today's situation was an administrative difficulty that we will explain in more detail later. I can't say anything else. We were working on the situation, but it was an administrative error.”

Full details are awaited as Vargas and his Hearts colleague Gerald Taylor return to Edinburgh. Taylor was an unused substitute against Guadeloupe but played from the start at right wing-back in Guatemala. He was replaced after 78 minutes.

READ MORE: How all seven Hearts players fared on international duty as one breaks his scoring duck

Vargas remains a part of Costa Rica’s squad but will again be frustrated at another international trip with no game time. He admitted being reduced to tears after he was restricted to an unused substitute’s role at the Copa America during the summer. He also previously expressed disappointment publicly at his lack of action when travelling to represent his country.

Vivas praised his team’s effort and stressed that they predominantly had a young side against Guatemala. “I would like to highlight the effort of both teams to win, each with their own weapons,” he said. “In general terms, there was a great physical display, we had a gameplan and if we had been more precise, we would have resolved the situation.

“We came to win with different approaches and there is a significant merit for the character of the young players, because the average age was 25 years old. I came to Guatemala to win, that's what I like, but when you can't, a draw is fine. The draw was the fairest result, because the opponent also had opportunities.

“We were very efficient in defence and, even though we lost some duels in the first half, we corrected that in the second. In attack we needed to be more precise, because in the first half we had chances in one-on-one situations. However, we did not win because Guatemala's defence was good. We tried to play together, but we needed to improve the final pass or have more judgment in the last phase.

“We came to win. In football, you play 11 against 11. There are moments in the game where you dominate and others where the opponent dominates you, but I never felt afraid in the match and I didn't feel subdued either. We didn't waste any time, for some reason the referee only gave two minutes [stoppage-time]. We all like to win, but we didn't lose and the team was competitive. I'm not one to celebrate draws, but I don't like to lose and I want to win in everything.”