Seven goals, one wild afternoon, and Jordi Paulina in the middle of almost half of them. Curaçao won 4-3 away to Costa Rica in the CONCACAF Nations League, and the forward finished with a goal and two assists, a share of three of his side's four goals.
Paulina's rating of 8.3 topped the sheet for the game, the kind of number that reflects more than a single moment. He was involved early enough to put Curaçao ahead of the game and late enough to matter when Costa Rica pushed back, contributing across both boxes rather than just finishing chances created by others.
A game that swung both ways
Costa Rica's three goals meant this was never a comfortable afternoon for the visitors, and a scoreline that flips between 3-3 territory before settling at 4-3 tells its own story about how much both sides pushed forward. In a match with that much end-to-end football, Paulina's three goal involvements stood out as the difference between the sides.
For Curaçao, the value of the win goes beyond the ledger of one match. Getting a positive result away to Costa Rica, and doing it with goals coming from multiple contributors rather than a single source, is the kind of result that changes how a team is talked about within CONCACAF's Nations League structure.
Paulina's own numbers now carry weight of their own. One goal, two assists, and a rating that led every player on the pitch. It was the sort of afternoon that gets remembered less for the final score than for the name that kept showing up in the buildup.