Newcastle United striker suffers World Cup heartbreak in Qatar as ex Arsenal man nets winner

New Zealand were beaten 1-0 by Costa Rica in their World Cup play-off match in Qatar on Tuesday as the Central American nation took the 32nd and final spot at the 2022 tournament.

Wood played the full 90-minutes as Joel Campbell’s third minute strike was enough to separate the sides. New Zealand were reduced to 10-men in the second half as substitute Kosta Barbarouses was shown a straight red card just nine minutes after his introduction.

Had The All Whites secured qualification, it would have been Wood's second World Cup having previously represented his country at the 2010 tournament in South Africa as an 18-year-old.

Wood signed for Newcastle from Burnley in January for £25million and went on to score twice in 17 Premier League matches. In the meantime, he also became New Zealand’s all-time leading goalscorer with 33 goals in 68 appearances.