Traffic Sports proudly announces the broadcast of the most decisive game in CONCACAF / CONMEBOL for a ticket to South Africa 2010. Costa Rica and Uruguay will play two crucial games on November 14th and November 18th to see who will return to the World Cup. Both countries controlled their own destinies and suffered heart wrenching; last-minute loses that kept them from receiving direct spots to the World Cup. Thanks to Traffic Sports, Integrated Sports (www.integretedsportsnet.com) and Perform Group, this critical two-game playoff will be available on Pay-Per-View via DirecTV, Dish, InDemand, and select cable companies, as well as on www.omnisport.tv . Don’t miss a minute of live action, when these two teams take the pitch to see who will go to the most important sporting event in the world. The first match will be played November 14th in Costa Rica at 9PM ET/6PM PT and Uruguay will host Costa Rica for the final play-off November 18th at 6PM ET/3PM PT.
“This play-off is what soccer is all about. You have two strong teams that just went through a grueling World Cup qualifying campaign, and fell just short,” said Traffic Sports USA Vice President Enrique Sanz de Santamaria. “Now they have to regroup and play their hearts out for 180 minutes. One team will bring an enormous joy to a nation. It’s truly an honor to be able to broadcast that emotion to all the Costa Ricans, Uruguayans, and soccer fans in general. One thing is certain; it’s going to be a monumental ending to a fascinating WCQ campaign.”
About Costa Rica
Costa Rica, at one time, sat comfortably in first place and seemed poised to return to the World Cup after a very promising showing in Germany 2006. After losing three games in a row, Costa Rica found itself on the outside looking in, and with two games left, they were forced to make a coaching change and replace Rodrigo Kenton with Rene Simoes. The Ticos won their next game against El Salvador, and it seemed as if Costa Rica was ready for the seemingly difficult task of beating the United Sates in Washington and going directly to South Africa. Costa Rica jumped out to a 2-0 lead going into the second half, with both goals from Brian Ruiz. The Yankees responded with two second-half goals of their own, the first from Michael Bradley who scored off a Landon Donavon rebound. In the closing minutes of the game, Costa Rica was dealt two devastating blows. First, head coach Rene Simoes was sent off for arguing with the referee; five minutes into added time, Jason Bournstien headed in the tying goal off an American corner kick. The last minute draw combined with a Honduras victory, left the one-time first place team with two more games to play against one of the strongest teams in the South American region, Uruguay.
Costa Rica has been one of the best teams to represent Central America in the last 20 years. The “Ticos” are the only central American team to qualify to two consecutive World Cups (Japan 2002, and Germany 2006). They are also the first Central American Team to beat two consecutive European teams in the World Cup.
About Uruguay
Uruguay beat Ecuador in the altitudes of Quito to rekindle its World Cup hopes. Diego Forlan executed a beautiful penalty kick on the last play of the game to help Uruguay walk away with a 2-1 victory over Ecuador. Uruguay then hosted a very desperate Argentinean side that also needed a win to qualify directly to the World Cup. After both teams came dangerously close to scoring the first goal and essentially putting the game away, Mario Ariel Bolatti snuck one past the keeper to put Argentina in the World Cup and send Uruguay to a playoff.
Uruguay has a very rich tradition in World Cup action. They won two World Cups in the early part of the century and most recently returned to Japan 2002. Aside from winning two World Cups, Uruguay has participated in more than half of the World Cups (10) scoring 65 goals in the process.
Pay-Per-View
The two final playoff games between Costa Rica and Uruguay will be available live on November 14th at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT and November 18th at 6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT on Pay-Per-View via DirecTV, Dish Network, select cable companies. For more information, contact your local satellite or cable provider. Suggested price $24.95. You can also access the games online www.omnisport.tv
Suggested price $24.95
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