Mexico vs. Costa Rica: Score and Reaction for World Cup 2018 Qualifying

Mexico stands alone atop the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2018 World Cup after scoring a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica on Friday night at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez scored in the seventh minute and El Tri never relinquished the lead. The result leaves them as the only unbeaten team in the Hexagonal through three matches (2-1-0), which creates a promising path to qualification after narrowly making the cut four years ago.

Nestor Araujo also scored for the Mexican side.

The Ticos (2-0-1) drop to second place in the group with the loss. They were competitive throughout the contest, especially in the early stages, but giving up the second goal right before halftime was a major setback in their bid to earn at least a point.

Chicharito put Mexico on the scoreboard early by capping off a terrific team play with a perfect chip.

The Mexican attack pushed forward despite a numbers advantage for the Costa Rican defense. The Bayer Leverkusen striker made a well-timed run to get behind the back line and Carlos Vela laid a through ball into space to create the scoring chance.

Hernandez took care of the rest, beating Ticos goalkeeper Keylor Navas to the ball just in time to flick it over the Real Madrid star to grab the lead.

ESPN Stats and Info provided further details about the record-tying tally:

Tom Marshall of ESPNFC pointed out the symmetry between the two El Tri stalwarts:

Vela picked up his second assist of the night on Mexico's second goal. He delivered a floating corner kick right into the sweet spot just outside the six-yard box and Araujo was there to power the header past Navas to double the lead shortly before the halftime whistle.

Peter Galindo‏ of Sportsnet analyzed the turning-point moment:

Mexico turned down the pace in the second half to secure the win. Costa Rica, which looked potent for most of the first half until El Tri made it 2-0, failed to make much of an impression in the second half.

Fox Soccer wrapped up the textbook effort from the home side:

Looking ahead, both teams return to action Tuesday for the fourth set of fixtures. 

Mexico faces a tricky road test against Trinidad and Tobago. The Soca Warriors are coming off a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Panama and will look to replicate that type of physical, defensively sound performance against the more talented Mexican group next week.

Meanwhile, Costa Rica stays out on the road and will look to avoid a two-match losing streak when it faces off with Honduras. The Ticos must do a much better job of taking advantage of early chances than they did at Estadio Azteca to secure all three points.