Costa Rica have been dealt a blow in their World Cup preparations after they were forced to cancel a friendly with Iraq. Sunderland's Jewison Bennette is part of the squad for the tournament later this month and would have been in line to feature in the warm-up game.
Luis Fernando Suárez's side were on their way to the game in Basra from their training base in Kuwait and had requested that their passports not be stamped when they crossed the border. However, that request was not honoured.
With concerns that an Iraqi passport stamp would cause difficulties getting into other countries in the future, the friendly was cancelled.
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"The match against Iraq was suspended," said the Costa Rican federation in a statement. "An agreement that was made with the non-stamping of passports was not respected and for this reason it was decided not to enter Iraq and cancel the match."
The South American side are one of the toughest groups in the tournament, taking on Spain, Japan and Germany later this month.
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