Ecuador 3 Costa Rica 0
Ecuador comfortably beat Group A rivals Costa Rica 3-0 to qualify for the second phase of the World Cup for the first time in their history.
Carlos Tenorio opened the scoring in the eighth minute before Agustin Delgado added his team's second shortly after the re-start.
Substitute Ivan Kaviedes wrapped up a wonderful afternoon for Ecuador as he struck his team's third in injury time to send their supporters at the Hamburg Arena into raptures.
Ecuador, who are competing in their second World Cup finals, dominated the opening half against a toothless Costa Rica, who offered little opposition.
Los Ticos did show some signs of revival after the re-start but their attempts to salvage their tournament hopes were shattered with Delgado's 54th-minute goal.
Luis Suarez's side had gained plenty of confidence in their 2-0 win against Poland and they proved to be the most effective side.
With the World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, Costa Rica looked nervous and rarely threatened Ecuador goalkeeper Cristian Mora in the opening half.
Alexandre Guimaraes made just one change to the team that lost 4-2 against Germany in their opener, with Harold Wallace replacing injured defender Gilberto Martinez, while Ecuador relied on the same starting XI that surprisingly beat Poland.
Costa Rica made unforced errors from the off and Ecuador made them pay early on for their indecisions.
Luis Valencia's cross from the right found Tenorio on the box whose bouncing header beat Costa Rica goalkeeper Jose Porras.
Costa Rica attempted to react but failed to break Ecuador's well-placed defence.
In an attempt to give more strength to his players up front, Guimaraes made his first substitution shortly before the half-hour mark, with forward Alvaro Saborio replacing midfielder Danny Fonseca.
But it was still Ecuador who were calling the shots, with Edison Mendez's free-kick going high over the crossbar. At the other end, Walter Centeno tried his luck from the distance but his right-footed effort went off-target.
Six minutes before the break, Mauricio Solis finally tested Mora but finally his strike proved an easy claim for the goalkeeper.
Ecuador's Ulises De la Cruz could have netted his team's second in the 41st minute, with his dangerous cross taking a deflection from Luis Marin and almost surprising Porras, who made a fantastic save.
Finally Costa Rica put something together, and two minutes before half-time Douglas Sequeira latched on to Leonardo Gonzalez's cross from the left but his header went wide of target.
Suarez replaced goalscorer Tenorio with Kaviedes at the re-start as their rivals pressed forward more aggressively.
Ronald Gomez should have equalised shortly after but his 30-yard effort fizzed wide of Mora's left post.
And it proved costly for his team as minutes later, Delgado struck his second of the competition. Mendez's assist sliced Costa Rica's defence open and found Delgado, who chested down the ball before firing a right-footed volley into the back off the net.
Costa Rica had no intention to give up and should have got back in the game in the 58th minute had Mora not made a spectacular save from Solis' stinging drive.
Shortly after the hour-mark, substitute Kaviedes had a goal disallowed for a clear offside as Ecuador looked to give their fans more joy.
Kaviedes was again denied, this time by Porras who did well to clear the striker's close-range effort. Saborio could have given his team a consolation goal but his curled right-footed effort rebounded off the crossbar.
But it was Ecuador who had the last say of the game, with Mendez's cross finding Kaviedes inside the area, and he tapped the ball into the back of the net.
Ecuador now take on host nation Germany in their last group game with the top spot up for grabs while Costa Rica end the tournament along with Poland.
Carlos Tenorio opened the scoring in the eighth minute before Agustin Delgado added his team's second shortly after the re-start.
Substitute Ivan Kaviedes wrapped up a wonderful afternoon for Ecuador as he struck his team's third in injury time to send their supporters at the Hamburg Arena into raptures.
Ecuador, who are competing in their second World Cup finals, dominated the opening half against a toothless Costa Rica, who offered little opposition.
Los Ticos did show some signs of revival after the re-start but their attempts to salvage their tournament hopes were shattered with Delgado's 54th-minute goal.
Luis Suarez's side had gained plenty of confidence in their 2-0 win against Poland and they proved to be the most effective side.
With the World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, Costa Rica looked nervous and rarely threatened Ecuador goalkeeper Cristian Mora in the opening half.
Alexandre Guimaraes made just one change to the team that lost 4-2 against Germany in their opener, with Harold Wallace replacing injured defender Gilberto Martinez, while Ecuador relied on the same starting XI that surprisingly beat Poland.
Costa Rica made unforced errors from the off and Ecuador made them pay early on for their indecisions.
Luis Valencia's cross from the right found Tenorio on the box whose bouncing header beat Costa Rica goalkeeper Jose Porras.
Costa Rica attempted to react but failed to break Ecuador's well-placed defence.
In an attempt to give more strength to his players up front, Guimaraes made his first substitution shortly before the half-hour mark, with forward Alvaro Saborio replacing midfielder Danny Fonseca.
But it was still Ecuador who were calling the shots, with Edison Mendez's free-kick going high over the crossbar. At the other end, Walter Centeno tried his luck from the distance but his right-footed effort went off-target.
Six minutes before the break, Mauricio Solis finally tested Mora but finally his strike proved an easy claim for the goalkeeper.
Ecuador's Ulises De la Cruz could have netted his team's second in the 41st minute, with his dangerous cross taking a deflection from Luis Marin and almost surprising Porras, who made a fantastic save.
Finally Costa Rica put something together, and two minutes before half-time Douglas Sequeira latched on to Leonardo Gonzalez's cross from the left but his header went wide of target.
Suarez replaced goalscorer Tenorio with Kaviedes at the re-start as their rivals pressed forward more aggressively.
Ronald Gomez should have equalised shortly after but his 30-yard effort fizzed wide of Mora's left post.
And it proved costly for his team as minutes later, Delgado struck his second of the competition. Mendez's assist sliced Costa Rica's defence open and found Delgado, who chested down the ball before firing a right-footed volley into the back off the net.
Costa Rica had no intention to give up and should have got back in the game in the 58th minute had Mora not made a spectacular save from Solis' stinging drive.
Shortly after the hour-mark, substitute Kaviedes had a goal disallowed for a clear offside as Ecuador looked to give their fans more joy.
Kaviedes was again denied, this time by Porras who did well to clear the striker's close-range effort. Saborio could have given his team a consolation goal but his curled right-footed effort rebounded off the crossbar.
But it was Ecuador who had the last say of the game, with Mendez's cross finding Kaviedes inside the area, and he tapped the ball into the back of the net.
Ecuador now take on host nation Germany in their last group game with the top spot up for grabs while Costa Rica end the tournament along with Poland.
posted by dgarden at 8:45 am
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