Uruguay sealed the 32nd and final place at next summer's World Cup as they drew 1-1 with Costa Rica to seal a 2-1 aggregate victory.

The 1-0 win in San Jose at the weekend proved crucial for the Charruas, who will play in South Africa after missing the 2006 tournament in Germany.

Sebastian Abreu put the hosts ahead after a goalless first half and, even though Costa Rica equalised soon after through Walter Centeno, they failed to find the winner which could have sent them to the World Cup.

Uruguay showed more attacking intent in the first half, with the Ticos counter-attacking home keeper Fernando Muslera's goal.

In the sixth minute, Diego Forlan was found by Nicolas Lodeiro but his 35-yard shot was turned behind by Keylor Navas.

Rene Simoes' Costa Rica side played some tough football, meaning the quality suffered somewhat in the first period, but they could have taken the lead had Muslera not saved a Cristian Bolanos shot.

After the interval, Uruguay began to take advantage of gaps as Costa Rica became more desperate for a goal.

Forlan was close to scoring in the 59th minute when he advanced into the box but Navas saved his attempt.

In the 70th minute, the Charruas finally opened the scoring, Abreu getting the better of marker Michael Umana to head Diego Scotti's cross past Navas.

Celebrations at the Estadio Centenario did not last long, however, as Centeno levelled four minutes later, after Muslera failed to hold Alvaro Saborio's effort.

The match was stopped for around five minutes when members of the media got involved in a scuffle with the Costa Rica substitutes.

But despite seven minutes of stoppage time, the Ticos failed to find a winner.

It was Uruguay's third successive qualifying play-off. They qualified for Korea-Japan in 2002 by beating Australia, the same opponents who beat them ahead of the 2006 tournament.

The other CONMEBOL teams through to the finals are Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina.