Mexico Vs. Costa Rica: Despite Loss To Los Ticos, Mexico Secures Fourth Place Finish And Playoff With New Zealand Thanks To United States Victory Over Panama

Needing at least one point to secure a fourth place finish in CONCACAF, the Mexian National team hoped for a strong performance in their final World Cup Qualifying match against Costa Rica. The Costa Ricans had previously locked up a spot in next summer's tournament and even though there was litte on the line for Los Ticos, playing in front of the home crowd would certainly provide the squad with extra intensity and motivation. Though El Tri - who narrowly defeated Panama in their last match - only needed one point, the team was looking for a three-point performance with that hopes that one final victory coupled with a major Honduras loss to Jamaica would be enough to send Mexico back to the World Cup without having to enter a playoff against New Zealand.

Despite the fact that they controlled their own destiny, El Tri found themselves in an early hole after Costa Rica's Bryan Ruiz blasted a left footed shot to the top left corner of the goal in the 25th minute. Securing the lead for Costa Rica was key in their early success but Mexico would fire back in a big way, indicating that the big stage and early turmoil would not get them down. When Oribe Peralta's left side shot knocked past Ticos keeper Keylor Navas in the 29h minute, El Tri was back in the game and able to breathe a temporary sigh of relief. The score would remain the same between the CONCACAF Hexagonal opponents heading into the break, setting up the biggest 45-plus minutes in recent Mexican National soccer history.

The second half wasn't kind to El Tri however even though the club needed a spirited effort. Surrendering a goal in the 64th minute to Alvaro Saborio, El Tri could only watch as time and opportunity ticked away in front of the Los Ticos faithful. Though they suffered a defeat at the hands of an extremely talented Costa Rican club, El Tri was extremely happen to discover that the United States - thanks to 2 stoppage time goals - was able to overcome a fierce effort from Panama, a team chasing Mexico in the hexagonal standings.

Though an automatic bid to the World Cup didn't come Tuesday night in Costa Rica, Mexico - with some help from their fiercest rivals - will have an opportunity to secure their place at next summer's Brazil games with a playoff victory over New Zealand. The two-leg playoff series begins on November 13.