Chicharito ties Mexico scoring record in 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Costa Rica

Leander Schaerlaeckens
Javier Hernandez
Chicharito celebrates his first goal. (AP Photo)

Mexico took control of the final round of the CONCACAF region in World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 win over previous leaders Costa Rica in Mexico City on Friday, as striker Javier Hernandez tied Jared Borgetti for the all-time national team scoring record of 46.

Going into the match at the dreaded Estadio Azteca, the Ticos had been perfect through two games – the latter of which was a 4-0 trouncing of the United States in San Jose, Costa Rica. But the 2-0 win on Chicharito’s early goal and Nestor Araujo’s before half-time put El Tri on top with seven points from three games, leaping ahead of Costa Rica.

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Not that it matters enormously, since the top three of six hexagonal participants qualify directly and qualifiers have no impact on seeding for the World Cup draw.

In the seventh minute, Hernandez tied Borgetti for the all-time Mexican scoring lead with his 46th tally for his nation. Like Borgetti, he did it in his 89th cap. The Bayer Leverkusen striker latched onto a nifty through ball from Carlos Vela. Chicharito, newly shaved bald after paying out late on a Super Bowl bet, dinked it over Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas with a knowing chip, before he was wiped out.

The goalkeepers, Navas and Memo Ochoa, exchanged fine saves for the rest of the first half. But on the brink of half-time, Araujo rose highest on a deep corner kick to the far post and nodded it at goal. Navas smothered the ball but couldn’t keep it from going over the line, doubling the score.

Mexico rode out the second half and is now the top team in the region — which the quality of its play had already suggested it was in recent months. That’s a refreshing change for El Tri, which squeaked into the 2014 World Cup through the back door. Only a late American goal in Panama on the final day of qualifying got the Mexicans into the playoffs, through which they reached Brazil via New Zealand.

Such difficulties don’t seem to lay in wait on the road to Russia 2018 for Juan Carlos Osorio’s humming machinery. Right now, Mexico is the team to beat in these qualifiers.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.