HOUSTON — Costa Rica's players hope they can build off Saturday's 3-2 win over Colombia and use the result as moment

Both teams knew their Copa America Centenario fate prior to the match, with Colombia already qualified for the quarterfinals and Costa Rica eliminated after a draw against Paraguay and a loss to the United States. Colombia manager Jose Pekerman made 10 changes, sitting nearly his entire team that started in the second group match against Paraguay.

The Colombian manager put in James Rodriguez and Edwin Cardona at halftime and later brought on Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado. The changes eventually led to a Colombia goal in the 73rd minute. But Costa Rica beat the Cafeteros to the punch with a goal of their own through midfielder Celso Borges in the 58th minute. The Ticos were able to see out the result thanks to defensive organization, even with Colombia's stars pushing for the equalizer that would've seen them win Group A.

"Everybody saw, everybody knew when James, Cuadrado and (Cardona) came in, it was a big change because Colombia, when they saw James come in, they started to believe," defender Kendall Waston told Goal USA. "They know James, he’s one of the top players and obviously the game changed. One goal after and the rhythm of the game changed a little bit but we started to keep a better shape, we started to be close, not exposed and I think we put in a great match"

After the draw with Paraguay and a lopsided loss to the United States, Saturday's win helped Costa Rica recover some confidence, and that the team will learn from this experience as it turns its attention back toward World Cup qualification.

"A ton. In fact, I think sometimes when you lose you get more out of something then when you win," Borges told Goal USA. "The fact that we’re eliminated makes us look at the situations where we need to get better, how the group can improve for all the matches that are coming up."

Waston agreed and also said the victory will help alleviate some of the pressure put on the team by fans who were frustrated with the 4-0 defeat to the Americans, who moved through as Group A winners thanks to their own victory and Costa Rica's win.

"This win helps us a lot because I think that everything is going to change from the fan’s perspective," the Vancouver Whitecaps defender said. "When we lost against the U.S., the environment wasn’t so good in Costa Rica. Now with this win, that helps us increase our belief looking forward to the game against Haiti."

Costa Rica currently sits atop CONCACAF World Cup qualification Group B and could clinch passage to the final round with a point. The Ticos face Haiti on Sept. 2 and close out qualification against Panama on Sept. 6.