Mexico are all but through to the hexagonal round of qualifying after pulling off an impressive road win against Costa Rica on Friday night, while the Ticos are now in a tough spot and are no lock to make the hex. The Estadio Nacional is not the fortress that the Saprissa once was, and Costa Rica were nowhere near their best in El Tri's 2-0 victory.

However, Mexico were far from perfect as well. They were obviously lacking a little something going forward while playing with two strikers in lieu of a No. 10, thanks to an injury to Giovani dos Santos. They didn't get much going from open play, but were able to execute on two excellent set pieces.

Carlos Salcido tallied the first goal of the match in the 43rd minute off of a corner kick. Andres Guardado supplied the delivery to the near post towards Maza Rodriguez, who flicked the ball back towards the center of the box. Salcido hit a great shot to the back post first time and scored to send his team into the break up a goal.

Mexico made their lead 2-0 shortly after the break through Jesus Zavala, who finished off another Guardado corner kick. Even though El Tri didn't look too creative on the night, their set piece execution was good enough for the victory.