Source: Twitter #laselecr

A 1 – 1 tie between the National Football Teams of Jamaica and Costa Rica allowed the Ticos to secure a berth in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, although the celebrations across the Central American country did not get started until one hour after the match ended at Independence Park in Kingston.

A victory in Ohio by CONCACAF rivals United States against a lackluster Mexican National Team plus a nail-biting 2 – 2 tie between Honduras and Panama in Tegucigalpa helped Costa Rica keep the lead in the World Cup Qualifiers and ensure that the Ticos will be one of the 32 teams that will play in Brazil next year.

Around 9:30 p.m., the excitement across Costa Rica was palpable. Car horns were blaring and fireworks streamed across the sky. At the Hispanic Unity Fountain in the lovable city of San Jose, football fans jumped in the water on a cool night as they chanted.

President Laura Chinchilla fired off a couple of updates from her personal Twitter account:

Costa Rica…. ¡Si se pudo! Felicidades afición, felicidades selección! #laselecr

— Laura Chinchilla M (@Laura_Ch) September 11, 2013

Costa Rica…. Yes we did! Congratulations fans and national team! And:

A esos escépticos, a los que no creyeron…¡Sí se pudo carajo! ¡Estamos en el mundial! #laselecr

— Laura Chinchilla M (@Laura_Ch) September 11, 2013

To those skeptics (haters), and to those who did not believe in us: Yes we did, dammit!

President Chinchilla watched the game with members of the Sub-17 Women’s National Team of Costa Rica.

The Costa Rica National Football Team arrived in Jamaica looking for a victory, but the explosiveness witnessed a few days earlier at the National Stadium in San Jose was missing against the Reggae Boyz. At Independence Park, Ticos outnumbered the Jamaican fans, but on the pitch La Sele was tactically guarded.

During the first half of the game, the Ticos dominated the pitch in terms of ball handling, but they were guarded to the point of appearing shy against the danger of breakaways plays and counterattacks by the respectable Jamaican strikers. The first goal arrived at the 75-minute mark courtesy of Randall Brenes from Club Sport Cartagines, who stole a bad serve by Jamaican goalkeeper McCallum. Brenes intercepted the loose ball and unleashed a rocket shot on goal that partially blocked, though the ball hit the right post and eventually ended up in the net.

Just when it seemed that Costa Rica had secured a ticket to Brazil 2014, Jamaican striker Jermain Anderson tied the game at the 92-minute mark. It was a masterful play by Anderson, who sneaked past Tico defender Michael Umana and elegantly kicked the ball past goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton.

In the end, the match results from the rival CONCACAF teams in Columbus and Tegucigalpa gave Costa Rica her fourth appearance in a World Cup, after Italy 1990, Korea and Japan 2002, and Germany 2006.

At 10:00 p.m., celebrations around the country were picking up with improvised cimarronas (parade bands) and general craziness on the streets. Congratulations to the team, and let’s reflect on President Chinchilla’s words one more time:

Yes, we did – dammit!