Three more teams booked their places to the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying as regional powers Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica all posted victories. Here is a rundown of their victories.
Mexico trounces Belize
So much for that huge upset in CONCACAF qualifying.
When Mexico only defeated Belize 2-0 in the first leg of their World Cup qualifying series there was at least a little speculation about whether the tiny Central American country could shock the world and knock off mighty Mexico.
Not so much.
The Mexicans scored seven unanswered goals to smash Belize, 7-0, to win the series and book their expected place in the third round of World Cup qualifying. Now Mexico joins a qualifying group that includes Honduras, Canada and Jamaica, with only two of the four teams advancing to the final round of World Cup qualifying.
Costa Rica tops Grenada, Guatamala rolls
Costa Rica booked its place to next round of qualifying with a 3-0 win against Grenada to record a 5-2 series victory. Alvaro Saborio, Bryan Ruiz and Randall Azofeifa all scored for ‘Los Ticos’ to book a place in a third round group that will include the winners of the Guyana-Suriname, Panama-El Salvador and Haiti-Netherland Antilles match-ups, which are all slated for completion today.
Guatemala also cruised in its second-leg match against St. Lucia, rolling to a 3-1 win to take a 9-1 series victory. Gonzalo Romero scored twice while Carlos Ruiz started and played 90 minutes for ‘Los Chapines’. Guatemala became the first team to qualify for a group expected to include the United States and the winners of the Trinidad & Tobago/Bermuda and Cuba/Antigua and Barbuda series.