=== Ecuador seals spot in next round with 3-0 win over Costa Rica ===

Hamburg, Germany (My Sportsbook) - In search of a shot at the round of 16, Ecuador came out in full force, netting goals in each half for the 3-0 win over Costa Rica and a spot in the next round for the first time in team history.

With thousands of Ecuador fans making their presence known with constant chanting, Ecuador cruised to its second shutout win of the tournament with goals from Carlos Tenorio, Agustin Delgado and Ivan Kaviedes to make team history by earning a position in the knockout round.

The three goal victory surely will be another confidence booster for the underrated squad, who travel to Berlin to face group favorite Germany to finish the group stage schedule.

Overall, both teams managed equal ball control in the opening minutes of the match. But it was Ecuador who came out scoring first, when Tenorio knocked a shot into the back of the Costa Rica net to take a 1-0 lead. Tenorio received a beautiful cross from midfielder Luis Valencia from the right side.

The cross made it to Tenorio, who was standing at the center of the box in front of the goal, allowing the striker to knock it into the left corner of the net.

Following the goal, Ecuador began to take control of the match as the team continued to apply pressure on the Costa Rica net. Inside of the first 25 minutes, the Ecuador offense had taken five shots, two of which on target.

Facing the one goal deficit, Costa Rica coach Alexandre Guimaraes made an early substitution, bringing in Alvaro Saborio for Danny Fonseca in the 29th minute.

Ecuador continued to push, finding its best opportunity to add a goal in the 41st minute, when Edwin Tenorio's cross deflected off one of Costa Rica's defenders, nearly fooling goalkeeper Jose Porras.

Overall, Ecuador entered the half having taken eight shots, compared to Costa Rica's four.

To begin the second half, Ecuador head coach Luis Suarez made his first substitution, taking out the goal scorer Tenorio and bringing in Kaviedes.

Ecuador entered the second half just where it had left off in the first half, controlling the ball and continuing to pressure the Costa Rica defense, still in need of an extra goal.

In the 56th minute, Ecuador capitalized on a great scoring opportunity for the second time, when Delgado doubled the lead courtesy of a perfect looping pass from teammate Edison Mendez.

With the ball on the right side at the corner of the Costa Rica penalty box, Mendez managed to chip the ball over the head of a defender. The ball found its way to a charging Delgado, who drilled the shot through to the near post and in to give Ecuador a two goal lead. The team's second goal of the day brought it one step closer to ensuring a spot in the next round.

Costa Rica, now facing the two goal deficit, attempted to find its first goal, but could only manage a couple of shots that posed little threat to goalkeeper Cristian Mora.

Throughout the 90 minutes, the team appeared unable to figure out the dominant Ecuador team, which still seemed to be in search of another goal in the remaining minutes.

Ecuador was eventually rewarded for its efforts when Kaviedes received a solid cross from Mendez from the right side to drill the team's third shot of the match in for a goal into extra time.

The late goal sealed the victory, earning Ecuador a top spot amongst the Group A teams.

Overall, Ecuador entered Thursday's with the same lineup that beat Poland, 2-0 in the tournament's opening day. For Costa Rica, defender Harold Wallace played in place of Drummond for the team's only change since its 4-2 loss to Germany.