San Jose, Oct 10 (IANS): Former Uruguay international midfielder Gustavo Matosas has been confirmed as the new head coach of Costa Rica's national team.

Matosas, 51, will officially take charge in January as Los Ticos prepare for the start of their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, the Costa Rican football federation said, reports Xinhua news agency.

"It's a wonderful challenge that I am very excited about," Matosas told a news conference on Tuesday.

"I will treat the opportunity as if it were my own country's national team."

Costa Rica are currently led by Ronald Gonzalez, who replaced Oscar Ramirez on an interim basis following the team's disappointing results in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Matosas, a former midfielder who was capped seven times for Uruguay's national team, has coached at 14 different clubs since retiring as a player in 2001. Costa Rica will be his first experience as a manager at the international level.