WORLD CUP ’90 : 3 Goals by Skuhravy Give Czechs Victory : Soccer: He takes tournament scoring lead in beating Costa Rica, 4-1.

Tomas Skuhravy is making a habit out of hurting teams from the Western Hemisphere.

First, Skuhravy scored twice as Czechoslovakia routed the United States, 5-1, in their World Cup opener. Now he has ruined Costa Rica’s first trip to the soccer championships.

The powerful striker scored with three headers Saturday night to lead Czechoslovakia to a 4-1 victory in a second-round game. The Costa Ricans had finished just ahead of the United States in qualifying for the tournament.

“The three goals I scored tonight are the most important so far in my career,” Skuhravy said. “I like to score on headers. I think those goals are the most spectacular.”

The victory propelled Czechoslovakia into the quarterfinals for the first time since 1962, when it made the final but was beaten by Brazil.

Skuhravy, who took the tournament scoring lead with five goals, headed Czechoslovakia in front in the 12th minute and also put in a header in the 63rd minute after defender Ronald Gonzalez had tied it for Costa Rica in the 56th minute.

Lubos Kubik scored Czechoslovakia’s third goal with a curling free kick in the 77th minute, and Skuhravy rounded out the scoring seven minutes before the end.

The Czechoslovaks played quick, slick soccer for long periods, but were briefly jostled out of their stride early in the second half, when Costa Rica tied the game.

“We didn’t expect to win this way,” Czechoslovak Coach Jozef Venglos said. “I have to salute my players.”

Playing in the World Cup for the first time, Costa Rica went into the match without star goalkeeper Luis Conejo, who was sidelined by a bruised thigh. He was replaced by Hermidio Barrantes.

Barrantes had a busy time. Skuhravy’s power in the air proved too much for the Costa Rican defense.

Czechoslovakia will play either West Germany or the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. All five Latin American teams had advanced to the second round, but Colombia lost, 2-1, to Cameroon and Costa Rica’s surprising run ended four hours later.

“We tried our hardest,” said Bora Milutinovic, Costa Rica’s coach. “I hope Czechoslovakia continues to do well.”