Costa Rica book place at FIFA World Cup 2022 finals after playoff win

The qualifying campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar came to an end on Tuesday

Joel Campbell’s early goal sent Costa Rica to the World Cup for a third successive tournament as they edged past 10-man New Zealand 1-0 in their intercontinental playoff on Tuesday and secured the last place at the finals in Qatar.

The former Arsenal striker scored after three minutes for Costa Rica as he squeezed between two defenders to touch home a square pass from Jewison Bennette with the New Zealand defence slow to react.

But New Zealand will feel hard done by after having an equaliser chalked off by VAR for a foul in the build-up to Chris Wood putting the ball in the back of the net in the 39th minute.

A check found that Matthew Garbett had fouled Oscar Duarte in what looked a harsh decision.

A VAR check also led to a 69th-minute red card for Kosta Barbarouses, leaving the Kiwis down to 10 men.

"We had a chance to score early on and then we struggled," said Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando at the post-match press conference.

"We knew what their assets were. We knew we’d struggle with their aerial balls. We had to make a change at halftime to have greater possession of the ball and a line of five in defence. That proved key."