As Costa Rica’s players tie their laces and the team’s coaches shout final instructions before Sunday’s World Cup last-16 tie with Greece, Arsenal striker Joel Campbell will pause, take a breath and begin whispering to himself.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

He recites the words to give him strength, words that make him think of his mother, Roxana, his father, Humberto, and three siblings in Costa Rica. Family is the second pillar in his life. God is the first.