United States men’s soccer team falls 4-0 to Costa Rica

Here’s how they could pull the upset and secure three points.

The U.S. men’s national soccer team’s outlook for an eighth consecutive World Cup berth took a huge hit on Tuesday night with a 4-0 road defeat against Costa Rica in San Jose. There are plenty of matches to be played, and very winnable ones, but the pair of recent losses have served to erase any equity Klinsmann may have had, and right now it has to be said that Klinsmann’s job is in jeopardy.

Fortunately, the lessons learned against Mexico are abundantly clear. It would give the flanks more cover to deal with Costa Rica’s quality on the flanks, while also giving the US some fullbacks who can get forward and overload Costa Rica’s defensive flanks as well.

Jurgen Klinsmann insisted Tuesday’s 4-0 drubbing in Costa Rica was the lowest point of his career as United States head coach.

As much as players deserve their share of the blame for a lifeless and ugly performance, Klinsmann must stand front and center and face criticism for a second straight match in which his tactics and decisions came into serious question.

“There’s going to need to be some urgency”, US captain Michael Bradley said.

Slack defending from Omar Gonzalez allowed Bolanos to get to the byline and cross for Venegas, left unmarked by John Brooks, to head home past Brad Guzan. Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Christian Bolanos played a major role for his side. Or that this was the heaviest shutout loss in qualifying in almost 60 years. “History, right?”, USA midfielder Michael Bradley said. No one, however, was on the back side. Outside midfielders will also need to pinch into the middle and provide support. The only redeeming thing about the game was the play of Christian Pulisic, who continues to be awesome.

Ronald Matarrita created both of Campbell’s goals, first sending a looping ball that Brooks misplayed into the path of the forward, who broke in alone and slotted the ball past Guzan from 16 yards. San Jose’s 35,175-seat Estadio Nacional sold out six hours after tickets to Tuesday’s game went on sale last summer, and over the weekend scalpers were doing a brisk business on the streets around the 5-year-old stadium, a $110-million gift from the Chinese government. His defense was never able to cope with the adventurous Costa Rican creative players and could not withstand the pressure for long enough to make the game competitive.

Friday’s loss to Mexico was a devastating one, but the sense in the USA camp in recent days has been a positive one. “It’d be easy to look at it and say, ah, there’s a track and it’s not as loud or they’re not as into it, but that’s not the case”. Bolanos beat Brooks to the ball and sent a header across Guzan for his seventh goal in 30 worldwide appearances.

Costa Rica and the U.S are well-worn rivals, with a record of 14-14-6. Not only has the USA never won in Costa Rica in nine attempts, it has lost on its last eight visits.

Expectations are tempered with Guzan riding the bench at Middlesbrough, but he still has all the potential to deliver a great performance. Johnson, Bradley, Jones, and Chandler all misfired in crucial moments. Mexico played to a 0-0 draw at Panama.