Ecuador's 3-0 victory over Costa Rica never looked in any doubt. An early goal from Carlos Tenorio and another after half time from Agustin Delgado set up an easy victory for the South Americans. A third goal from Kaviedes just before the final whistle was the icing on the cake.

German trainer Jürgen Klinsmann will have been taking copious notes this afternoon. Ecuador will face Germany next Tuesday and though both teams have now secured qualification -- a draw for Ecuador will now be enough for them to win the group.

Ecuador's captain, Ivan Hurtado was delighted with the result. "Words fail me," he said after the game. "We showed today what we can do. It's a big moment for us. This is our second time in the World Cup and we showed it was no coincidence."

The result means Ecuador qualifies for the later stages of a World Cup tournament for the first time in their history and when referee Coffi Codjia signalled the end of the match Ecuador's fans were clearly elated.

Costa Rica never really threatened their opponents. Ecuador looked more comfortable in midfield and had far more ideas going forward. Paulo Wanchope, the scorer of two goals for Costa Rica against Germany, received poor service from his teammates.

It was a crunch game for both sides but Ecuador always looked the more hungry. Having lost against Germany, Costa Rica badly needed a victory to have any chance of qualifying for the second round. Ecuador knew that three points would take them through, with a draw meaning qualification would be decided by the final games, of which Costa Rica has the easier.

Ecuador duly took the lead after just 8 minutes. Carlos Tenorio headed home from 6 yards after a well placed cross from Luis Antonio Valencia. Much of first half went by with little decisive action. Costa Rica's Brazilian coach Alexander Guimaraes looked frustrated by his team's lack of attacking intelligence. Striker Alvaro Sabaorio was sent on after 29 minutes but the desired additional attacking strength did not materialize.

The second half started much as the second with Ecuador dominating play. Agustin Delgado, man of match and goalscorer in Ecuador's first game against Poland had a good chance after 52 minutes, but his acrobatic effort was saved. Delgado made up for his miss just 2 minutes later with a half volley driven powerfully past goalkeeper Jose Francisco Porras at the near post. Mendes set up the goal with a chip through and Delgado blasted the ball home from the corner of the six yard box.

Ecuador were happy to dictate the pace of the match and as the game wore on it was clear only one team were going to challenge for qualification. Costa Rica had few chances. Mauricio Solis did well with a running solo effort but a weak shot let him down at 60 minutes. Later Saborio was also unlucky after his chip hit the Ecuadorian crossbar but goalie Cristian Mora was rarely troubled.

At 70 minutes Ivan Kaviedes netted a third goal for Ecuador but it was disallowed for off side. Kaviedes got his just rewards just before the final whistle. His goal celebrations verged on the bizarre. He ran to the corner flag and put on a yellow spiderman mask before he being mobbed by his teammates.