Costa Rica beat NZ, seal World Cup berth
Joel Campbell’s early goal gave the Central Americans a 1-0 win over New Zealand
DOHA: Costa Rica’s core of stars like Keylor Navas, Joel Campbell and Bryan Ruiz created national football history in a memorable run to the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals.
They were all still there on Tuesday, all with more than 100 appearances, all key to a 1-0 win over New Zealand in a World Cup intercontinental playoff in Qatar.
All earned a ticket back to Doha for Costa Rica in November and their third straight World Cup together.
“Today is a joyful day,” said Navas, the captain and goalkeeper whose saves late in the game preserved the lead earned by Campbell’s third-minute goal. “We played many finals to be here, we played many matches in which we knew we couldn’t make any mistakes. And today was another one of those.”
Costa Rica completed a 32-nation World Cup line-up by withstanding a New Zealand team that rallied from the early setback to dominate possession and create more and better scoring chances.
New Zealand pressed, and Navas responded, even after going down to 10 men for the last quarter of the match in the air-conditioned Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on the outskirts of Doha.
Two key decisions after video review went against the Kiwis, cancelling out a possible equalizing goal by Chris Wood in the 39th and ensuring a red card in the 69th for a foul by Kosta Barbarouses. The midfielder was on the field as a substitute for just nine minutes.
In the tense late stages, Navas rose to push away a curling leftfoot shot by Clayton Lewis and got down to block Wood’s low drive.
It lifted Costa Rica to a World Cup place that looked unlikely after a slow start last year in the eight-team North American qualifying group.
“This squad shows what it is like to be Costa Rican. They never quit, they always give 100%,” said coach Luis Fernando Suarez, whose players reeled off four straight wins in February and March to earn the playoff entry.
New Zealand failed again in the final qualifying test. The latest Kiwis loss in intercontinental playoffs followed exits against Mexico for the 2014 tournament and Peru four years later.
Costa Rica coach Suarez scored his own World Cup hat trick. He previously took Ecuador to the 2006 tournament and led Honduras there in 2014.
“It is an obsession that I always pursued. To be in this position is beautiful,” Suarez said. A tough World Cup assignment awaits as Suarez and his team will face two of the past three champions in Group E. Spain are the first opponents on November 23, then Japan and Germany.
Costa Rica scored from their first attack when Campbell, the former Arsenal forward, muscled between two defenders near the penalty spot to meet a low cross from teenager Jewison Bennette.
Campbell scores
Campbell directed a left-foot shot low into the far corner of the net. A World Cup place was the perfect gift for Bennette, who turns 18 on Wednesday.
North American football now matches traditional power South America in having four teams at the last of the 32-nation World Cups. Costa Rica join Canada, US, and Mexico — the three co-hosts of the expanded 48-team tournament in 2026 — which advanced directly in March from regional qualifying.