Capitalising on a foul in the penalty area by Suriname’s Dion Malone, Manfred Ugalde converted the winner with a right-footed shot to the bottom right corner.

It was Ugalde’s second penalty kick goal of the game after he scored in the 19th minute to give Costa Rica (1-0-0, 3 points) a 2-0 lead.

Undeterred by the early deficit, Suriname (0-1-0, 0 points) pulled even on goals by Gyrano Kerk (34th minute) and Richonell Margaret (59th minute), then went ahead 3-2 on a penalty kick goal in the 76th minute by Shaquille Pinas.

This time it was Costa Rica that rebounded with a tying goal by Josimar Alcocer in the 76th minute.

Both teams had scoring chances down the stretch, but came up empty until Ugalde’s second tally.

Costa Rica got the scoring started in the 14th minute on a shot from close in by Alonso Martinez, then added Ugalde’s first penalty kick five minutes later.

In shot attempts (19-9), shots on goal (9-6) and corner kicks (9-2), Costa Rica held the edge.

Suriname goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen stopped five shots, while counterpart Keylor Navas had three saves.