In the early morning of June 15th, Beijing time, the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers ushered in the final play-off match. It was still at Laiyang Stadium, Costa Rica faced New Zealand . After 90 minutes of fierce battle, Costa Rica defeated New Zealand 1:0.
Only 3 minutes into the game, from the left side of Costa Rica threw the ball from the sideline. During a scramble, Bennett got the ball and passed it back in an inverted triangle. Campbell flashed out between the three-man double team to meet the ball. With a sweeping shot, the ball went straight into the far corner of the goal, and Costa Rica got off to a fantastic start at 1:0. Although New Zealand's world ranking is far lower than Costa Rica, they completely overwhelmed Costa Rica offensively in a back-to-back battle.
In the 11th minute, the New Zealand midfielder launched an attack with a long pass over the top. Wood inserted a header and passed back. Grave entered the penalty area and shot hard. The ball almost missed the goal post and went out of the baseline. Just 2 minutes later, New Zealand pressed on the right side, and Kiwan made a pass from the bottom. Wood headed the ball from the left, and Matthew met the ball in the penalty area and volleyed slightly over the crossbar. In another 2 minutes, New Zealand threw a ball from the frontcourt. Oviedo slanted the ball in front of the goal at a 45-degree angle from the left. Wood stepped in and shot a volley from a super close range. Goalkeeper Navas struggled to save the ball.
In the 39th minute, New Zealand continued to press from the left, and Oviedo lobbed at a 45-degree angle. Costa Rica's defense made a mistake in clearing the ball. Wood made a late pass and knocked the ball into the net, but the referee later confirmed it after VAR confirmation. In the previous midfield scramble, Matthew fouled and the first goal was disallowed. Easy side played against New Zealand again and continued to strengthen their attack. In the 67th minute, they were anxious and made a mistake. Barbarouses tackled Francisco during the scramble. The referee immediately showed a yellow card, but after VAR confirmed it, it was changed to a red card. Barbarouses was sent off, and New Zealand, which was lagging behind, had to face a more unfavorable situation of playing less and playing more.
Although one player was missing, New Zealand still fought hard. In the 84th minute, they had a chance to launch a counterattack through the midfielder. Wood entered the penalty area and got a single shot from a small angle. Wood's final low shot still failed to penetrate Navas's fingers. In the end, although Costa Rica was far behind in shooting at 4:15, they effectively defeated New Zealand and took the last train to the Qatar World Cup. In this case, the top 32 of the Qatar World Cup are all released, and Costa Rica will enter the death group of Germany, Spain, and Japan. Their first game will be against Spain on November 24. The entire Qatar World Cup group stage starts on November 21st and ends on December 3rd with all 48 group stage matches.
