Hawa Vieira has a long, thin, strong right-foot. He is a tall, lean left-sided midfielder who likes to come deep in attack and offer support to teammates.

“I love the ball,” Vieira said after the game. “I like to have quality balls. That’s why I started with it. You must have to have quality when you have quality. I think that’s something we want to work on.”

Vieira’s long-range shots have proved effective for Heraldo so far. His shots have been on target 27 times, including three in the match.

Heraldo’s shots in matches have produced eight goals in the 13 wins of his three seasons with River Soccer Club. Vieira is averaging 2.5 goals all time in the match he starts.

He finished with 12 shots, including one on target.

River’s left-sided midfielder, Victor Sanchez, said he expects Vieira to take over the midfield duties.

“We are looking for our midfield back,” Sanchez said. “He is in a really good place and he will keep pushing himself and give us what we need.”

For the match against River, Ticos coach Jose Carlos Mendes opted for a 4-4-2 formation, with Vieira in the middle, and left back Carlos Salazar at right back.

“The first game, we had a very difficult schedule for both teams and the players who won the games,” Mendes said. “We also wanted to give confidence to the other teams. We have a very strong team and we have a team that will attack, and be very, very successful. That is what we try to do.”

The match ended in a 3-2 penalty kick shootout, the first three match in CONCACAF World Cup Group F this season.

Notes