Costa Rica Reaches Gold Cup
Costa Rica booked their
place at this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup by brushing aside nine-man
Guatemala in a qualifying match after both sides had missed a
penalty.
Costa Rica striker Andy Furtado fired over the crossbar from the
spot in the 25th minute of Sunday's game after Carlos Gallardo, sent
off for a second bookable offence in the process, had fouled Pablo
Herrera.
Three minutes later, Guatemala were awarded a penalty but Marco
Pappa's effort was saved by Ricardo Gonzalez.
Alvaro Sanchez put Costa Rica ahead with an individual goal in the
33rd minute but Minor Lopez headed Guatemala level following a free
kick in the 56th minute.
Costa Rica replied immediately with Herrera and Roberto Segura
scoring twice in two minutes to put them in command. Guatemala then
had Carlos Castillo sent off in the 67th minute for a bad tackle.
Costa Rica lead Central American Group B with six points from two
games. Honduras have already qualified from Group A and three more
places are still up for grabs.
The Gold Cup will be held in the United States in July. The hosts,
Mexico and Canada qualify automatically while Jamaica, Grenada,
Guadeloupe and Cuba have gone through from the Caribbean zone.
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