Costa Rica achieved the last quarterfinals spot in the women’s Copa Oro soccer tournament on Wednesday by winning an unlikely drawing of lots against the Puerto Rico national team.
The quarterfinals of the Concacaf tournament, to be played on Saturday and Sunday in Los Angeles (California), will feature the matchups of Brazil vs. Argentina; Mexico vs. Paraguay; United States vs. Colombia, and Canada vs. Costa Rica.
The tournament format offered direct qualification to the quarterfinals for the top two teams in each of the three groups and also reserved places for the two best third-placed teams.
Argentina (Group A) already had secured one of those spots and the second had to be disputed by drawing lots between Puerto Rico (Group B) and Costa Rica (Group C), since both finished the first phase with the same number of points (3), goal difference (-2), goals scored (2) and yellow cards (4).
A few minutes after the last match of the day at the Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas, Concacaf held a brief drawing in the press room with an urn containing two balls and the first one to come out had Costa Rica’s name. The drawing of lots has been used on rare occasions in major international soccer competitions.
In the 1990 World Cup, FIFA officials held a playoff draw between the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands, who finished with identical records behind Group F winner England. Ireland was finally awarded the second place while the Netherlands finished third.
Full house for South America
Costa Rica will clash again this weekend with Canada, to whom it lost 3-0 in Houston on Wednesday. Canada, the reigning Olympic champion, took control of the win with a goal from striker Jordyn Huitema, who headed Jessie Fleming’s cross into the area into the net in the 11th minute.
Shelina Zadorsky, West Ham defender, capped off the 3-0 rout with two more headers from corner kicks in the 27th and 57th minutes.
The fate of Costa Rica, a team that competed in the Australia and New Zealand World Cup last year, came to depend on the last game of the day in Houston, which Paraguay won 3-2 against El Salvador with a hat-trick from Jessica Martínez.
The South American squad, which needed points to secure a place, took the lead with a Martínez penalty in the 18th minute but then saw El Salvador fight back to make it 2-1 with goals from Samantha Fisher, also from the penalty spot in the 69th minute, and Danielle Fuentes in the 83rd.
In a heart-stopping finale, Martínez rescued Paraguay with another goal from the penalty spot in the 86th and completed the hat-trick in stoppage time to ensure the South Americans’ passage as Group C runners-up with 6 points.
Thus, the four South American guest teams qualified for the next round: Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
