Angry Costa Rica players are arriving home in dribs and drabs from the Copa America quarterfinals because their national federation made travel plans expecting them to fall in the first round.

Costa Rica shocked Chile 2-1 on July 14 and qualified for the quarterfinals, leaving federation officials to scramble to find new airplane tickets home from Peru, and the players bitter.

Only seven players arrived home by midday, two days after a 2-0 loss to Colombia ended their run at the tournament.

Most of the others didn't arrive until late - following a 10-hour wait at Lima airport. Some more were arriving later.

"We're pretty upset because it isn't the first time this has happened," said team captain Luis Marin. "When you go to a tournament you should be ready to classify or not."

Midfielder Steven Bryce added: "We're professionals. It's impossible that we face these problems."

Federation official Milton Castro said the team was expected to crash out of the competition in the first round, even though it made the quarters at the last Copa in 2001.

Castro blamed tournament organisers for the travel snags.

"This is the fault of the Copa organisation, which did not prepare for enough flights for the teams that were eliminated," he said. "This isn't the fault of the national administrators."

The federation had little faith in Costa Rica's chances at the Copa because it appointed a new coach only 14 days before the start, and two leading players decided not to take part.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP