Mexico have become the first team from CONCACAF to qualify for the hexagonal round of World Cup qualifying with their victory over Costa Rica. They were made to work much harder at home than they were in San Jose, but Javier Hernandez was able to finish off a chance in the second half to give El Tri a 1-0 victory.
While El Tri were not at their best for most of the match, they were certainly better than Costa Rica, and a goal always seemed inevitable before it came. 'Chicharito', who has been displaced from the Manchester United team, looked rusty on Friday and continued to look rusty for most of Tuesday's match as well. He got himself in the perfect spot in the 61st minute, however, and applied a simple touch to direct a cross by Jorge Torres Nilo into the back of the net.
Mexico looked like a much more confident side from then until the end of the match and didn't give the Ticos a sniff at an equalizer. If he wishes, Jose Manuel de la Torre can call a youth side into his team's final two qualifiers in this round.
We'll have coverage of all of Tuesday's matches in our CONCACAF 2014 World Cup qualifying StoryStream. For more on El Tri, head over to Mexican football blog FMF State Of Mind. For more on the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.