Monterrey (AFP) – Costa Rica and Canada scored victories over Trinidad and Tobago and Panama in the CONCACAF W Championship to secure their tickets to the 2023 World Cup.
Julia Grosso scored in the 64th minute to give the Canadians a win over Panama.
Canada, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, dominated the channels, but couldn’t beat them until Grosso scored his third goal of the tournament.
Earlier, Costa Rica beat Trinidad and Tobago 4-0 with two goals from Christine Granados.
Granados scored in the 18th and 44th minutes for the Costa Ricans, who actually qualified for the World Cup for the second time in their history, and the first since 2015. Later, the Canadian victory secured their ticket.
Lauren Hutchinson scored an own goal in the 33rd minute, and Catherine Alvarado finished the account in the 48th minute for Costa Rica.
Trinidadians finished the match with 10 points after Kiddie Johnson was sent off in the 22nd minute after receiving a second yellow card.
In the other group, the United States qualified for the World Cup the day before by defeating Jamaica 5-0, which will decide another direct ticket on Monday when they face Haiti.
The Mexican-American host faces off at the group’s last date in search of a seemingly impossible ticket to a playoff match.
Eight teams are split into two groups in the W Championship, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the World Cup. The third-place teams advanced to the Intercontinental Playoffs in February.
The W Championship winner also earns a place at the 2024 Olympics in France.
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