Soccer-Costa Rica bag berths at Gold Cup, Centenary Copa America

Reuters

Sept 14 (Reuters) - World Cup quarter-finalists Costa Rica have won their eighth Central American Cup title, giving them a berth at next year's CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Centenary Copa America in 2016. Los Ticos, under former Manchester City and Costa Rica striker Paulo Cesar Wanchope after the departure of World Cup coach Jorge Luis Pinto, beat Guatemala 2-1 in the final in Los Angeles on Saturday. Carlos "Pescadito" Ruiz put Guatemala ahead with a 25th minute penalty but World Cup forward Bryan Ruiz equalised with a superb free kick four minutes later. Newcomer Juan Bustos struck the winner from outside the box early in the second half. Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador also booked places at the Gold Cup after the Panamanians beat the Salvadoreans 1-0 in the third-place match. The 2016 Copa America to mark 100 years of the South American Football Confederation's elite tournament, the world's oldest active international soccer competition, is a one-off 16-team event. It will be held in the United States with the 10 CONMEBOL member nations and six from CONCACAF with the hosts and Mexico already guaranteed their places. The Central American Cup is a seven-team tournament played by Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama which was held in the U.S. for the first time. (Reporting by Carlos Calvo in Mexico City; Writing by Rex Gowar; editing by Martyn herman)