Uruguay became the 32nd and last nation to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after completing a 2-1 aggregate win over Costa Rica.
Leading 1-0 following Saturday's away leg in San Jose, the South Americans looked to be well on their way to South Africa when Sebastian Abreu doubled the lead 20 minutes from time.
But Costa Rica refused to go down without a fight and just four minutes later Walter Centeno rifled home from the edge of the box to set up a nervy finish.
Costa Rica then threw everything at the Uruguayan goal for the final 15 minutes but the side which won the first ever World Cup tournament held on to secure their first finals appearance since 2002.
Coach Oscar Tabarez said: "This match mirrored the tie as a whole. I'm very happy. Fortunately, we made it, in spite of the way we did it. There is a lot to improve on. We'll do so and we'll have the World Cup to prove it.
"I'm very happy, mostly for the kids. The ones who are younger than eight years old have never seen this and now they can live it."
