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VIDEO: By Kyle McCarthy
MEXICO CITY - Mexico became the first side to secure a place in the Hexagonal with a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica Tuesday night at Estadio Azteca.
Javier Hernández provided the difference between the sides, heading home Jorge Torres Nilo's inch-perfect cross at the back post on 61 minutes to give Mexico a second win over Costa Rica in four days.
The victory extended Mexico's perfect record in Group B play, but the Costa Ricans will take some solace after an improved performance from the 2-0 defeat in San José on Friday. They presented more problems for the home side than they did on home soil four days ago. Joel Campbell even tested José Corona from distance shortly before halftime as the visitors went in search of goals.
Mexico once again struggled to produce the necessary incisiveness from the run of play, but their work from set pieces proved potent. Héctor Moreno's header off the bar from an Andrés Guardado corner kick four minutes before halftime posed the most significant threat of the first half, while Jesús Zavala forced a fine one-handed save from Keylor Navas after he directed a Guardado free kick toward goal six minutes after the interval.
The breakthrough, however, arrived from a sweeping move in the run of play. Several touches kept the Mexican attack moving and played Torres Nilo into space on the left wing. His resulting service eluded Navas' grasp inside the goal area and fell perfectly for Hernández to polish off at the back post with just less than 30 minutes left in the match.
Corona did well to punch away Christian Bolaños' dangerous diagonal ball after 69 minutes as the Costa Ricans tried to procure an equalizer, but the Mexicans held out to clinch the first of six available berths in the final round of World Cup qualifying with two matches to spare.
The result also solidified Mexico's perch atop Group B with 12 points from four matches. Costa Rica dropped to third place in the group with four points from four games after El Salvador climbed onto five points following a 3-2 victory in Guyana also on Tuesday.
