| Yeltsin Tejeda | |
| Fullname: | Yeltsin Ignacio Tejeda Valverde[1] |
| Birth Date: | 17 March 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Limón, Costa Rica |
| Height: | 1.79 m |
| Position: | Defensive midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Herediano |
| Clubnumber: | 10 |
| Youthclubs1: | Saprissa |
| Years1: | 2011–2014 |
| Clubs1: | Saprissa |
| Caps1: | 110 |
| Goals1: | 5 |
| Years2: | 2014–2016 |
| Clubs2: | Evian |
| Caps2: | 53 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2016–2018 |
| Clubs3: | Lausanne-Sport |
| Caps3: | 28 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2019– |
| Clubs4: | Herediano |
| Caps4: | 84 |
| Goals4: | 5 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2008–2009 |
| Nationalteam1: | Costa Rica U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 9 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2010–2011 |
| Nationalteam2: | Costa Rica U20 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 13 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2011– |
| Nationalteam3: | Costa Rica |
| Nationalcaps3: | 78 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 1 |
| Pcupdate: | 25 May 2021 |
| Ntupdate: | 03:22, 29 March 2023 (UTC) |
Yeltsin Ignacio Tejeda Valverde (pronounced as /es/; born 17 March 1992) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga FPD club Herediano, which he captains, and the Costa Rica national team.
He is named after the first President of Russia Boris Yeltsin.[2]
Tejeda began his career with Saprissa in 2011 scoring one goal against San Carlos. In the 2014 Verano season, Tejeda was named the captain of the team.
After Costa Rica's campaign at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Tejeda traveled to the United Kingdom to sign with Swansea City, but the club halted the negotiations, and Tejeda instead traveled to France.[3] On 22 August 2014, then-Ligue 1 club Evian announced that Tejeda had signed a four-year contract.[4] He scored his first goal for the club on 19 September 2014 in a 2–1 loss to Bordeaux.[5] During the winter transfer window, Tejeda was joined by his countryman and former Saprissa teammate David Ramírez.[6] The team was relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of the season.[7]
In July 2016 Tejeda joined Swiss club Lausanne-Sport on a three-year contract.[8]
In January 2019 Tejeda returned to Costa Rica, signing with Herediano.[9] He signed a two-year contract extension with the club in October 2021.[10]
Tejeda was selected in Costa Rica's squad for the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship and he was named in the 2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. He played for his country at the 2009 FIFA U-17 and 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cups.[1]
He officially debuted in the senior Costa Rica national football team on 11 December 2011 in a friendly match against Cuba, in Havana and has, as of November 2014, earned a total of 30 caps, scoring no goals. Tejeda was a key part during Costa Rica's successful qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and during the finals tournament. He also played at the 2013 Copa Centroamericana and 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica's 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[11]
In November 2022, Tejeda was named to Costa Rica's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[12] On December 1 in Costa Rica's final group stage game, he scored his first goal for Costa Rica against Germany in a 4–2 defeat.[13]
| Costa Rica | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals | |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 78 | 1 | |
Costa Rica score listed first, score column indicates score after each Tejeda goal.
| scope=col | No. | scope=col | Date | scope=col | Venue | scope=col | Cap | scope=col | Opponent | scope=col | Score | scope=col | Result | scope=col | Competition | scope=col class=unsortable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 December 2022 | Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar | 76 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2022 FIFA World Cup | [14] |