HANOVER, Germany — Poland's first 2006 World Cup victory again came too late.
Bartosz Bosacki scored twice to lead Poland to a 2-1 win over Costa Rica on Tuesday in a Group A game between two teams already eliminated from the tournament.
Poland, which lost its first two games in Germany, also won its last game at the 2002 World Cup, when it beat the United States 3-1 in South Korea after dropping its first two group games.
The winner against Costa Rica came in the 66th minute, when Bosacki rose above Paulo Wanchope to powerfully head Jacek Krzynowek's corner kick into the goal.
Costa Rica took a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute when Ronald Gomez's low, left-footed free kick from 19 yards out got past the defensive wall and goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
Bosacki tied the score in the 33rd off a corner kick by Maciej Zurawski. Costa Rica goalkeeper Jose Porras ran out in an attempt to punch the corner kick away, but he stumbled and the ball fell to Bosacki, who knocked it in the net.
Bosacki wasn't originally on coach Pawel Janas' 23-man World Cup roster. He joined the team after Damian Gorawski failed his physical due to circulatory and respiratory problems.
But he still wasn't enough to get Poland into the second round.