Yesterday’s final round of World Cup qualifiers symbolized the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” as the late Jim McKay used to say.
In South America, the final ticket to next year’s tourney in South Africa was up for grabs among Argentina, Uruguay, and Ecuador. The game between the first two would be a winner-take-all affair played in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo. The match was a fairly even affair until late in the second half when charrua Martin Caceres was red carded. Argentina’s Mario Bolatti pounced on a rebound from the ensuing a free kick to score the match’s lone goal:
Argentina’s win sealed their berth on soccer’s biggest stage along with neighbors Brazil, Paraguay, and Chile. Ecuador’s 1-0 loss to Chile insured that Uruguay will have to contest a two game play-in series against a country one of its Latin American neighbors.
Costa Rica and Honduras played in separate matches to decide who would qualify directly to the World Cup and who would go against Uruguay. For most of the night it appeared that Costa Rica booked their ticket to South Africa after jumping out to a 2-0 lead against the U.S. Yet the gritty gringos overcame that deficit in the second half and the ticos faced heartbreak with only seconds left in the hard-fought match:
Meanwhile, Honduras got a vital 1-0 win via goat-turned-hero Carlos Pavon. Along with the 2-2 tie in Washington, it would be Honduras who will make it to the World Cup for the first time since 1982. They will be joined by CONCACF rivals Mexico and the U.S.
The last spot for next year’s World Cup will be decided next month; Uruguay will visit Costa Rica on November 14th followed by the return leg in Montevideo on the 18th.
Online Sources- Wikipedia, You Tube, Sky Sports, CNN, ESPN
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