2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–OFC play-off)

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
(CONCACAF–OFC play-off)
Event2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
Costa Rica New Zealand
1 0
Date14 June 2022 (2022-06-14)
VenueAhmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
RefereeMohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)[1]
Attendance10,803[2]
WeatherFair
31 °C (88 °F)
84% humidity[3]

The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification CONCACAF–OFC play-off was a single-leg match between the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF third round, Costa Rica, and the winners from the OFC, New Zealand. Before their identity was known, the winners of the play-off had already been allocated to Group E at the World Cup.[4]

The match was played on 14 June 2022 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Costa Rica won the match 1–0 to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Background

The draw for the inter-confederation play-off fixtures was held on 26 November 2021.[5]

Both teams had met once, a friendly won 4–0 by Costa Rica at the Ricardo Saprissa stadium on 24 March 2007.[6][7] Current Costa Rican captain Bryan Ruiz, then 21 years old, scored a goal and gave an assist in that match. He is also the only player from that match to remain active with his national team. Current New Zealand's coach Danny Hay also played that match.[8]

The match was the second inter-confederation play-off for Costa Rica, having previously lost 1–2 on aggregate to Uruguay in 2009. Since the OFC had no direct qualification spots, New Zealand reached the intercontinental play-offs for the fourth consecutive time, winning the first (against Bahrain in 2009) and losing the remaining two (against Mexico in 2013 and against Peru in 2017).[9]

Costa Rica had a complicated start of the qualifying process. During the first half of the CONCACAF third round, Costa Rica stood fifth at only six points out of twenty-one, five points behind Panama, then the fourth-placed team.[10] The second half of the round began on 16 November 2021; that night, as Costa Rica was drawing a home match against Honduras, their gap against the Panamanians almost increased to seven points;[11] however, a late goal by Gerson Torres gave a crucial victory for the Ticos, who from then onwards enrolled in an unprecedented comeback, with six victories and one draw that saw them overtaking Panama, ending Canada's undefeated streak, and finishing fourth of the table, with only the goal difference preventing them to overtake the United States for the third place.[12][10][13]

Marked by several delays due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic such as travel restrictions that national teams couldn't be able to travel in those countries, the OFC qualification round announced the tournament scheduled to be held in Qatar in March 2022.[14] New Zealand won the tournament and qualified to the play-off match against the CONCACAF fourth-placed team, who was unknown at the time.[15]

The group stage draw took place on 1 April 2022, leaving the CONCACAF–OFC play-off winners allocated in Group E, alongside Spain, Japan, and Germany.[4] Later, in May, FIFA revealed the stadium that would host both the AFC vs CONMEBOL and CONCACAF vs OFC play-off matches: the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.[16] The winners of the CONCACAF vs OFC play-off match are set to return to the stadium at the World Cup to face Japan on 27 November.[17]

Match

Summary

Three minutes into the match, Joel Campbell received a cross from Jewison Bennette to score the lone goal.[18] At the 39th minute, Chris Wood scored a goal after a poor clearance by Yeltsin Tejeda. However, his goal was nullified as the video assistant referee (VAR) showed that Matthew Garbett had fouled Óscar Duarte prior to the goal.[19] The VAR was also used at the 69th minute, after Kosta Barbarouses, who had been subbed in just nine minutes prior, tackled Francisco Calvo's ankle. Referee Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed originally showed Barbarouses a yellow card, but after checking the VAR, Hassan changed it to a red card, leaving New Zealand down to ten men for the rest of the match.[20][21]

The refereeing caused frustration in the New Zealand team. Coach Danny Hay said that "FIFA has let us down" because of the relative inexperience of the referees compared to the European officials for the Australia vs Peru match.[22] Former Costa Rican referee Ramón Luis Méndez considered both the goal disallowance and the red card as valid decisions, but questioned why the VAR did not check a foul by Kendall Waston on Chris Wood that should have been a penalty.[23]

Details

Costa Rica 1–0 New Zealand
 Report
Attendance: 10,803
Costa Rica
New Zealand
GK 1 Keylor Navas (c)
RB 4 Keysher Fuller downward-facing red arrow 46'
CB 6 Óscar Duarte
CB 15 Francisco Calvo
LB 8 Bryan Oviedo
RM 13 Gerson Torres downward-facing red arrow 46'
CM 5 Celso Borges downward-facing red arrow 79'
CM 17 Yeltsin Tejeda
LM 9 Jewison Bennette downward-facing red arrow 46'
CF 7 Anthony Contreras Yellow card 90+2'
CF 12 Joel Campbell downward-facing red arrow 90+3'
Substitutes:
GK 18 Aarón Cruz
GK 23 Leonel Moreira
DF 3 Juan Pablo Vargas
DF 16 Ian Lawrence
DF 19 Kendall Waston upward-facing green arrow 46'
DF 20 Daniel Chacón upward-facing green arrow 79'
DF 22 Carlos Martínez upward-facing green arrow 46'
MF 2 Carlos Mora
MF 10 Bryan Ruiz Yellow card 90+4' upward-facing green arrow 46'
MF 14 Orlando Galo
MF 21 Brandon Aguilera
FW 11 Johan Venegas upward-facing green arrow 90+3'
Manager:
Colombia Luis Fernando Suárez
GK 1 Oliver Sail
CB 6 Bill Tuiloma
CB 2 Winston Reid (c) Yellow card 70' downward-facing red arrow 72'
CB 4 Nando Pijnaker
DM 8 Joe Bell
CM 15 Clayton Lewis downward-facing red arrow 79'
CM 19 Matthew Garbett downward-facing red arrow 60'
RW 20 Niko Kirwan downward-facing red arrow 79'
LW 13 Liberato Cacace
CF 11 Alex Greive downward-facing red arrow 60'
CF 9 Chris Wood
Substitutes:
GK 12 Stefan Marinovic
GK 23 Matthew Gould
DF 3 Francis de Vries
DF 5 Tommy Smith
DF 16 Michael Boxall
DF 21 Tim Payne upward-facing green arrow 79'
MF 7 Kosta Barbarouses Red card 69' upward-facing green arrow 60'
MF 10 Marko Stamenic upward-facing green arrow 79'
FW 14 Elijah Just upward-facing green arrow 72'
FW 17 Logan Rogerson
FW 18 Joe Champness
FW 22 Ben Waine upward-facing green arrow 60'
Manager:
Danny Hay

Man of the Match:
Keylor Navas (Costa Rica)[24]

Assistant referees:[1]
Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
Hasan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates)
Fourth official:
Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
Reserve assistant referee:
Saud Al-Maqaleh (Qatar)
Video assistant referee:
Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)
Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar)

Match rules[25]

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Twelve named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time[note 1]

Notes

  1. ^ Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

References

  1. ^ a b Villalobos, Ronald (18 May 2022). "FIFA nombra equipo arbitral asiático para el repechaje entre Costa Rica y Nueva Zelanda" [FIFA appoints Asian refereeing team for play-off between Costa Rica and New Zealand]. Radio Columbia (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  2. ^ "CRC vs NZL". FIFA.com. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Doha, Qatar Weather History". Weather Underground. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b "World Cup 2022 draw: The eight groups in Qatar". MARCA. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Draw date set for new-look FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 intercontinental play-offs". FIFA. 19 November 2021.
  6. ^ Villarreal, Juan Diego (25 March 2007). "Fiesta con todo y queque". Al Día. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  7. ^ Araya, José Fernando (31 March 2022). "Navas, Borges y Ruiz buscarán su revancha en un repechaje mundialista | Teletica". Teletica (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  8. ^ Villarreal, Juan Diego (30 March 2022). "Bryan Ruiz hace 15 años 'volvió loco' al técnico de Nueva Zelanda". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  9. ^ Abizanda, Jorge (1 April 2022). "España, ante la incógnita de Costa Rica o Nueva Zelanda". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  10. ^ a b Monge, Alejandro (14 June 2022). "Así se gestó el 'milagro' de Costa Rica para clasificar a Catar 2022 contra todos los pronósticos". ESPNdeportes.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  11. ^ Mora, José Eduardo (17 November 2021). "Entre azares y espejismos | El Jornal Costa Rica". El Jornal (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  12. ^ Araya, José Fernando (15 June 2022). "La sangre joven también fue fundamental en el boleto de La Sele". Teletica. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  13. ^ Quesada, José Alexis (31 March 2022). "Costa Rica firmó una remontada sin precedentes en eliminatorias mundialistas". www.everardoherrera.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  14. ^ Tafau-Levy, Savannah (16 September 2021). "OFC update on FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Oceania Qualifiers". OceaniaFootball. Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  15. ^ Pavitt, Michael (30 March 2022). "New Zealand win qualifier to book place in playoff for FIFA World Cup". www.insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Ahmad bin Ali, el estadio donde Costa Rica y Perú se jugarán su boleto al Mundial en los repechajes". MARCA (in Mexican Spanish). 4 May 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  17. ^ Hernández, Camilo (9 June 2022). "La Sele reconoció el asombroso estadio donde buscará derrotar a Nueva Zelanda en el repechaje". Fútbol Centroamérica (in European Spanish). Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  18. ^ "Costa Rica vence a Nueva Zelanda y jugará el Mundial de Qatar". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Costa Rica respira: VAR anuló gol del Chris Wood en el repechaje a Qatar 2022 - VIDEO". libero.pe (in Spanish). 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  20. ^ "La brutal patada de Barbarouses de Nueva Zelanda que dejó con 10 a su equipo ante Costa Rica". El Observador. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  21. ^ "Costa Rica 1 New Zealand 0". BBC Sport. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  22. ^ Smith, Tony (14 June 2022). "All Whites v Costa Rica: 'Fifa has let us down': Danny Hay slams refereeing appointment". Stuff. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  23. ^ Baldares, Eduardo (14 June 2022). "Ramón Luis: "El VAR no revisó un claro penal de Kendall Waston sobre Chris Wood" - Radio Columbia". Radio Columbia (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  24. ^ "New Zealand vs Costa Rica".
  25. ^ "Regulations FIFA World Cup 2022 Preliminary Competition: Including COVID-19 Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 29 November 2021.

External links