HAMBURG, Germany, 16 June 2006 — Ecuador reached the second round of the World Cup for the first time after beating Costa Rica 3-0 yesterday.
Carlos Tenorio and Agustin Delgado each scored their second goals of the tournament to go through alongside host Germany, which beat Poland 1-0 Wednesday. Ivan Kaviedes added a third goal in injury time.
“We’re very happy for having qualified, aside from me having scored another goal for my team,” Delgado said.
“We’re now thinking about being group leaders. We think about winning every game.” Costa Rica and Poland are the first teams to be eliminated from the 32-nation field.
“We made history and that’s what we came here to do,” Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez. “We achieved our first goal, but it won’t be the only one.”
Ecuador needs only a draw against Germany in its final match of the first round to claim first place in Group A.
“Our big concern now is to play a great match against Germany, and eventually against England, if it happens,” Suarez said, referring to his likely opponent in the second round. “
Our idea is to finish as the best team in the first round and then doing the same in the second round and continue to improve as much as possible.”
Goalkeeper Cristian Mora, again playing with Ecuador flags painted on his cheeks, jumped with joy after Delgado’s goal built a two-goal margin early in the second half.
Tenorio scored in the eighth minute and Delgado in the 54th.
Kaviedes, who replaced Tenorio at the start of the second half, added the last goal in the second minute of injury time from 6 meters (yards) off a cross from Edison Mendez, getting by captain Luis Marin and poking the ball in.
Historically, the Tricolors have found success only at their home field in Quito, more than 2,700 meters (9,000 feet) above sea level. But after winning only once in 10 games coming into their second World Cup, the South Americans have won two in a row, starting with a 2-0 victory over Poland last Friday.
Costa Rica, Central America’s dominant team, was coming off a 4-2 loss to Germany in the World Cup opener and was eliminated in the first round for the second straight World Cup. Four years ago, the Ticos lost out to Turkey on goal difference.
Tenorio scored his seventh goal in 31 international appearances after some nifty passing in the midfield.
The ball was played to Luis Valencia on the right flank, and he crossed around Marin to Tenorio, who burst ahead of Douglas Sequeira and beat goalkeeper Jose Porras with a header from close range.
Considered the successor to Delgado as Ecuador’s top scorer, Tenorio left the game at halftime.
Delgado got his goal 31st goal in 70 appearances following a throw in, exchanging passes, bursting between Marin and Michael Umana, then beating Porras to the near post.
Kaviedes’ goal was his 14th in 46 games for Ecuador.
“The team has been playing together for quite some time.
We have a system that every player knows to perfection,” Delgado said.
“We want to win the next game, even though we’re in the second round.”
While the Ecuadorean fans, dressed in canary yellow, sang and banged drums in one corner, Ticos’ supporters, clad in red in the other corner, were stunned into silence for long stretches.
Costa Rica’s best chance to get back in the game came in the 42nd minute when Sequeira tried to bounce a header in and missed wide.
A minute earlier, Porras had to lean back to parry a deflected cross.
Alvaro Saboria hit the underside of the crossbar in the 88th only to have the ball bounce out.
