The octagonal Concacaf qualifier for the Qatar-2022 World Cup came to an end this Wednesday with the confirmation of the direct classification of Mexico and the United States and the pass of Costa Rica to the intercontinental playoff.
Source: AFP
Mexico and the United States will accompany the World Cup with a direct ticket to Canada, which qualified in advance on Sunday and finished the octagonal tournament with a historic lead and return to the Cup after a 36-year absence.
The four matches of the fourteenth and last day of the octagonal were played simultaneously.
At the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, the Mexican team ended its martyrdom by easily beating El Salvador 2-0 with goals from Uriel Antuna, at minute 17, and Raúl Jiménez, at 44.
With this result, the ‘Tri’ reached 28 points and was in second place; the ‘Selecta’ finished with 10 units in the seventh step of the table.
At the National Stadium in San José, the United States lost 2-0 to Costa Rica, which achieved victory with goals from Juan Pablo Vargas, at minute 51, and Anthony Contreras, at 60.
In this way, the American squad was left with 25 points and dropped from second to third place; the Costa Rican team, with its sixth win in the last seven games -plus a draw-, reached 25 points and finished fourth with the right to play the intercontinental playoff against New Zealand.
At the Rommel Fernández stadium in Panama City, Panama said goodbye with a bittersweet taste because, already eliminated, they beat the leading Canada 1-0 with a goal by Gabriel Torres, at minute 49.
Despite the defeat, the team from the country of the maple leaf finished as leader with 28 points and the canalero team was in fifth place with 21 units.
And at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica said goodbye with a 2-1 win over bottom team Honduras.
Leon Bailey, at minute 38, and Ravel Morrison, at 45+2, scored for the ‘Reggae Boyz’ who finished in sixth place with 11 points.
Ángel Tejeda, at 18, had put the ‘H’ team ahead, which suffered its tenth defeat and finished with four points.
