Gary Speed Memorial game

A Gary Speed memorial international friendly will be played when Wales host Costa Rica on 29 February, the Football Association of Wales have announced.

Speed, who took his own life in November, made the first of his outfield record 85 Welsh caps in a friendly win over Costa Rica in 1990.

The Welsh FA have confirmed their first friendly since Speed's shock death will be at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Dean Saunders scored the only goal on Speed's debut at Ninian Park.

And Speed, who was then a 20-year-old midfielder at Leeds United, replaced Glynn Hodges as a 76th minute substitute in the friendly in May 1990.

So the visit of Costa Rica is expected to be an emotional first international fixture since Speed's shock death on 27 November.
Costa Rica, who are set to play Wales for a second time, drew 2-2 with world and European champions Spain in San Jose in November and are currently in 65th place in the Fifa world rankings.

Wales, who are ranked 48th in the world, hope to name a successor to Speed before Cardiff fixture.

The Welsh FA has yet to confirm the process, let alone select a date for a meeting, to decide how Wales' 13th full-time manager will be appointed.

The FAW charged a six-man managerial panel to appoint a successor to John Toshack in 2010, the job Speed eventually got.

Raymond Verheijen was Speed's assistant manager and the Dutch coach wrote on Twitter that he thought the FAW should give Speed's backroom team the opportunity to continue his work.

And Wales star Gareth Bale has backed Verheijen and Osian Roberts to remain part of Wales' management set-up following Speed's death.

The Tottenham Hotspur winger felt it would be "absolutely ridiculous" to make significant changes in the management team.

"I know personally most of the players want to keep it the same," Bale told BBC Sport.