Costa Rica’s national women’s soccer team could not muscle a win Monday night and will not advance to the 2011 World Cup tournament in Germany.
On Monday, the team held the fate of two-time champions – the United States – in its hands. A win would have forced the women’s soccer powerhouse out of the tournament and put the Ticas one match away from qualifying for the World Cup. Instead Costa Rica was sent packing after 3-0 loss in Mexico.
“Costa Rica came out hard and we came out hard, so it was a fun match,” U.S. defender Amy LePeilbet told the United States Soccer Federation. “Both teams were going for it.”
The United States will play Italy in two matches in late November to determine whether it will make it to the World Cup tournament in June. After losing to Mexico on Friday, the United States suffered its first unsuccessful attempt at qualifying in the first round, since the women’s World Cup was inaugurated in 1991.
