Costa Rica were outplayed via New Zealand of their inter-confederation World Cup play-off on Tuesday however clung on to a 1-0 gain to attain Qatar 2022.
In a winner-takes-all suit between the fourth-positioned side in CONCACAF qualifying and the OFC degree winners, Joel Campbell struck the decisive goal after simply three minutes.
The former Arsenal forward squeezed between New Zealand defenders and bundled a first-time finish beyond Oli Sail.
Rather than tee up a honest Costa Rica victory, though, that purpose preceded a sustained backs-to-the-wall effort as the All Whites ruled.
Chris Wood concept he had netted a valuable equaliser late inside the first 1/2, best for a VAR review to identify a foul earlier inside the move.
And every other video referral inside the 2d length saw substitute Kosta Barbarouses' lunge on Francisco Calvo upgraded from a yellow card to crimson, leaving New Zealand with a mountain to climb.
They continued to manipulate the contest however could not rating the leveller that could deny Costa Rica their region in Qatar, joining Spain, Japan and Germany in a tricky Group E.
Los Ticos – going to their 6th World Cup and third in a row – begin their campaign towards Spain in Doha on November 23th.
