Costa Rica beats El Salvador 1-0 on penalty kick (AP)

Alvaro Saborio converted a penalty kick in the first minute of the second half to give Costa Rica a 1-0 victory against El Salvador on Wednesday night in the semifinal round of World Cup qualifying. Costa Rica, which was awarded the penalty kick after Alfredo Pachecho fouled Alonso Solis, leads Group Three of the North and Central American and Caribbean region.