Costa Rica national team qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 after beating New Zealand national team with a score of 1-0 in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Inter-Continentals Playoff at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan Qatar.
Costa Rica took an early lead through former Arsenal striker Campbell who slotted his low left-footed strike into the bottom corner in the third minute.
New Zealand responded brightly and thought they had found an equaliser in the 43rd minute through Chris Wood, but his strike was ruled out after VAR ruled that midfielder Matthew Garbett had committed a foul in the build-up.
There was more bad news for New Zealand as substitute Kostas Barbarouses was shown a straight red card just eight minutes after coming off the bench for a heavy sliding tackle on Francisco Calvo. He was initially awarded a yellow card, but after a VAR review a red was given.
In the 77th minute, Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas produced a sublime diving save to tip over Clayton Lewis’ curling strike from the edge of the box.
New Zealand continued to pressure for an equaliser, with Wood squandering a glorious chance to score from close range in the 84th minute, but Costa Rica held on for their seventh clean sheet in 14 qualification matches to seal their place in Qatar.
Credit Photo : NZFootball
