Costa Rica were all but through to the quarterfinals of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 1-0 lead over El Salvador heading into stoppage time at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Tex., on Saturday night.
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Then came the second 92nd-minute goal of the day in that same building — this one by El Salvador — to throw Group B into a heap of uncertainty with one round of group stage games left to be played.
Bryan Ruiz, the former Fulham and new Sporting CP (Portugal) midfielder, scored the game’s opening goal, a low, powerful finish from an extremely tight angle in the 61st minute to break a scoreless deadlock that to that point had actually, surprisingly, seen El Salvador the more likely side to break through.Bryan Ruiz breaks the deadlock for Costa Rica beating El Salvador’s keeper on the near post. Watch: http://t.co/a7GgTf8rYy
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 12, 2015
Dustin Corea scored the late equalizer for El Salvador, though, when he got on the end of Arturo Alvarez’s left-sided free kick and applied the first-time finish from the top of the six-yard box. A deserved draw in the end, for El Salvador.
All tied up! Dustin Corea scores on the end of a free kick for El Salvador in stoppage time. #GoldCup2015 Watch: http://t.co/KWW6OfAGCH
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 12, 2015
[ MORE GOLD CUP: USA 1-0 HAI | HON 1-1 PAN | JAM 1-0 CAN | MEX 6-0 CUB | T&T 3-1 GUA ]
With one game still to play in Group B, both Costa Rica and El Salvador (two points each) could finish anywhere from first to fourth in the group. Los Ticos will face Canada on Tuesday at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, while Jamaica have El Salvador.