On Thursday evening, England qualified for the 2018 World Cup after a dour 1-0 win over Slovenia at Wembley.
The game was played on full of a stadium that was just over two-thirds full, with the crowds piling for the exits after Harry Kane's 94th minute winner. The team had a celebratory lap of honour after the game, where the amount of empty seats were even more noticeable.
England's qualification for their 15th World Cup was met with a general sense of apathy from the fans. The same cannot be said for Costa Rican supporters.
One of the surprise packages in Brazil in 2014, the central American side reached the quarter-finals, with only the heroics of Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul denying them a spot in the semi-finals.
On Saturday night in the capital San Jose, Costa Rica booked their spot in Russia with an injury-time goal to draw 1-1 with Honduras. That point meant they were guaranteed a spot in their fifth World Cup.
The fans reacted as you would expect most fans to, after seeing their side reach the tournament.
¡GRACIAS KENDALL! GOLAZO ???
Más: https://t.co/CeQ5ORxbG0 pic.twitter.com/dzIUWdLcFe
— Teletica Deportes (@TeleticaTD7) October 8, 2017
Kendall Waston's goal all but ended Honduras' hopes of automatic qualification. They must now hope to beat already-qualified Mexico and hope both Panama and the United States lose. One of those three teams will face either Syria or Australia for a place in the World Cup.
While Waston's goal was badly needed, the reaction of the commentary team, the crowd and especially manager Oscar Ramirez was a sight to behold.
Costa Rica will be a fine addition to El Mundial next summer.
