Costa Rica advances to Gold Cup quarterfinals with 3-0 win

Costa Rica assured itself of a spot in the knockout rounds of the CONCACAF Gold Cup by posting a 3-0 win over French Guiana on Friday night at Frisco, Texas.

Ariel Rodriguez scored in the fourth minute, and Rodney Wallace and David Ramirez added insurance goals late in the second half.

The result guaranteed that the Costa Ricans, with seven points, could finish no worse than second in Group A. Costa Rica clinched first place in the group when Honduras and Canada played to a scoreless tie in the night’s second match.

French Guiana, which had to play with 10 men for the last 29 minutes, was eliminated with the loss.

Canada needed to defeat Honduras by two goals to win the group, but it also clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, as did Honduras, which hasn’t scored in three Gold Cup games.