United States bounces back with 4-0 victory over Costa Rica
Much of the talk surrounding the United States men’s national team entering the Copa America Centenario was about the dynamic young players in the squad.
Costa Rica came into the match ranked 23rd by Federation Internationale de Football Association, eight spots ahead of the United States. Leaving his defender searching for answers to the secrets of the universe (42), Dempsey then touched it past a second defender, only to have the fruits of his labor gladly shared by Jermaine Jones with a wonderfully curled finish. “That’s why we came out with that performance”.
The U.S. continued its strong defense in the second half.
Dempsey also assisted Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood on goals before halftime.
Graham Zusi scored in the 88 minute to cap the US scoring as goalkeeper Brad Guzan only needed to make two saves as the USA picked up a critical three points in a game it had to have and that Klinsmann had referred to as a must-win a day earlier. While the US looked good, Costa Rica got the better of the game for parts of the second half. We had to up our game. “It means you have to find ways to deal with that”.
Turning point: A 1-0 lead is very unsafe in soccer, and while 2-0 brings a feeling of security, it still feels vulnerable in such an important match like this one.
US should have made it 4-0 with 17 minutes remaining but Alejandro Bedoya’s ball across the six-yard box was nipped away from Zardes at the last moment, while Kyle Beckerman made a crucial clearance to deny Costa Rica a late consolation with an empty goal at their mercy.
In 2014, Colombian coach Jorge Luis Pinto took Costa Rica to the World Cup, where the Ticos won a group that featured three former World Cup champions, England, Italy and Uruguay, and then reached the quarterfinals, where they lost to the Netherlands on penalty kicks. The opening minutes did not look good for the USA, which was under pressure and fortunate not to go down when an bad clearance by DeAndre Yedlin led to a half-volley from Costa Rica midfielder Joel Campbell that flashed just wide of the post.
The loss to Colombia ramped up criticism of Klinsmann, who said last month the team’s Copa goal was at least the semifinals. However, a goal from Graham Zusi in the waning moments of the match gave the USA a decisive 4-0 victory.
“You see now they start to smell each other and make runs off each other”.
It was the Americans that seized the early advantage on Tuesday. But after a series of encouraging sequences, the Americans went ahead in the ninth minute.
Yedlin served from the right side. Interest in soccer doesn’t end when the World Cup does, and the level of sophistication has grown to the point that fans are rightly confounded when he plays Geoff Cameron at right fullback instead of his usual center back position. Behind him stood Christian Gamboa. Ecuadorean referee Roddy Zambrano pointed to the penalty spot. The Ticos swarmed in fury.
The Americans didn’t start the match on good terms as Costa Rica bossed the ball thanks to a high press, but once Dempsey slotted his penalty into the right side of the net, the USMNT veterans began to take over.
Scoring that early goal allowed the U.S.to give Costa Rica a taste of the medicine it was forced to swallow last Friday.
Things were a bit more even in the second half, and it appeared the 3-0 score from the first half would be the final tally. With three goals in the first half, clearly the move paid off.
Yet a 4-4-2 leaves Jones and Michael Bradley as the central midfield partnership, a combination that has never been entirely natural.
The Americans weren’t content. With his back to the target, Wood gathered Dempsey’s pass, turned and lashed a 19-yard shot to the near corner in the 42nd minute. Yellow cards- Fabian Johnson, United States, 44th; John Brooks, United States, 81st. If Colombia scores first, this match could get very ugly.