Published on Monday, June 30, 2025
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services

The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team advanced to the semifinals of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup after narrowly defeating Costa Rica 4–3 in a penalty shootout in Sunday’s quarterfinal match at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

According to a Concacaf recap, Costa Rica struck first in the 12th minute when Francisco Calvo converted a penalty to give "Ticos" the early lead.

The U.S. had a chance to equalize in the 37th minute, but Malik Tillman’s penalty attempt hit the left post. Max Arfsten followed up with a rebound shot, which was denied by Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Diego Luna leveled the score in the 43rd minute with a left-footed strike from the center of the box.

The U.S. pulled ahead early in the second half as Arfsten found the net in the 47th minute with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box, finishing a setup from Tillman.

Costa Rica equalized again in the 71st minute. Alonso Martínez scored with a left-footed finish from close range after Carlos Mora dribbled through defenders and forced a save from U.S. keeper Matt Freese before laying off the assist.

Martínez nearly gave Costa Rica the lead again in the 85th minute, but his shot from outside the box struck the right post. With the score tied 2–2 at full time, the match went to penalties.

In the shootout, Martínez converted Costa Rica’s first kick, while Tyler Adams answered for the U.S. Freese came up big with three saves during the shootout before Damion Downs buried the winning penalty to secure the 4–3 win.

With the victory, the U.S. extends its unbeaten run in the Concacaf Gold Cup to 15 matches, the team's longest streak since an 18-match run from 2003 to 2009.

The U.S. has also now advanced in all 19 Gold Cup knockout-round matches in which it held a lead at any point since 2005.

The America Team will face Guatemala in the semifinals on Wednesday at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri.

The tournament champion will be crowned on July 6.

The U.S. most recently defeated Costa Rica 3-0 in a friendly played earlier this year at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Costa Rica was eliminated from the 2024 Copa América despite a 2-1 win over Paraguay in the group stage. The result was not enough to secure advancement to the next round.

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