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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Photo via the U.S. Soccer Federation.
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Published on
Thursday, January 23, 2025
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services
The
U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team achieved a
3-0 victory over the Costa Rica Team in
Wednesday’s friendly at the Inter&Co
Stadium in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.
The
U.S. players Caden Clark and Patrick
Agyemang added second-half goals and the
Americans celebrated the conclusion of a
successful January camp before 13,580 fans
at Inter&Co Stadium, announced the
U.S. Soccer Federation in its statement.
It
was their second victory in four days
under head coach Mauricio Pochettino. The
USA defeated Venezuela, 3-1, on Jan. 18 at
Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
As
expected in a camp focused on player
evaluation, Pochettino rotated his lineup
considerably. Miles Robinson (playing
right back instead of centrally),
midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi and winger
Brian Gutiérrez were the only holdovers
from the group that started against
Venezuela.
A
triumphant return by goalkeeper Zack
Steffen earned his first cap since the
World Cup qualifying finale in Costa Rica
in March 2022, while captain Tim Ream and
Walker Zimmerman partnered in central
defense for the first time since the
subsequent round-of-16 loss to the
Netherlands in Qatar.
Emeka
Eneli and winger Indiana Vassilev each
earned their first USMNT starts. Left-back
DeJuan Jones and Brian White filled out
Pochettino’s XI.
Playing
for the first time under former Mexico
manager Miguel Herrera, Costa Rica fielded
four international debutants. Its most
seasoned starter was goalkeeper Esteban
Alvarado (25 caps), who faced the USA in
2019 and 2020 friendlies and then relieved
Keylor Navas toward the end of that March
2022 qualifier.
Costa
Rica was more assertive just
after kickoff and earned three corner
kicks in the opening five minutes, but
Steffen and the USA held firm and
gradually grew into the game. Brian
Gutiérrez had the first good U.S. chance,
hitting the side netting from close range
following a spell of possession in the
13th.
The
ascendant Americans appeared to suffer a
setback when Diego Luna, the playmaker,
was forced to the sideline after taking an
inadvertent elbow from Costa Rica’s
Creichel Pérez. But Luna re-entered the
match after several minutes of treatment,
wearing a new white jersey and cottoning
up both nostrils. Seconds later, the Real
Salt Lake sparkplug set up White’s opener.
Luna
received a pass at midfield from Jones,
advanced about 20 yards and then hit a
through ball that split three Tico
defenders. White took one touch into the
penalty area and sent a low, left-footed
shot back toward the inside-right netting.
The 21st-minute tally was White’s first
USMNT goal, and at age 28 he
became the oldest player to open his
international account since Matt Besler
(29 years, 204 days) in September 2016.
White nearly had a second in the 27th, but Costa Rican Esteban Alvarado cleared a low bid from the Vancouver Whitecaps’ marksman off the goal line. Steffen then made his mark in the 37th, leaping high and to his left to tip a well-hit, dipping shot from Costa Rica’s Alejandro Bran over the crossbar. The lively, wide-open half ended with an excellent recovery from Robinson, who closed down a threatening Josimar Méndez in stoppage time.
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Pochettino
sent on midfielder Jack McGlynn, playmaker
Matko Miljevic and Caden Clark after
halftime.
McGlynn and Miljevic had a goal and an
assist against Venezuela, and they were
back orchestrating the U.S. attack early
in the second period. Miljevic set up
Brian White for a promising chance in the
53rd, but he pulled his shot left of the
target.
Steffen
then authored another spectacular save in
the 56th, diving to his left and parrying
a goal-bound shot from substitute Allan
Cruz, a former FC Cincinnati midfielder.
Frequent
substitutions and frequent whistles
impacted the flow of the second half (the
friendly featured five yellow cards) and in
the 77th, Eneli’s alert and aggressive
play paid dividends. Operating
in the left channel,
the Real Salt Lake midfielder quickly
recovered the ball from Costa Rica’s Bran
and found Clark at the top of the penalty
area. The CF Montréal attacker rifled home
a first-time shot for his first U.S. goal.
Jones
and Agyemang then teamed up for an
exclamation point in the 90th. Jones
curled a long, beautiful ball with the
outside of his foot into Agyemang’s path,
and the Charlotte FC striker pounded a
shot past substitute Costa Rican
goalkeeper Anthony Walker from an acute
angle. Agyemang, who replaced White 15
minutes earlier, had also scored against
Venezuela.
Steffen
made three saves to claim his 12th career
shutout and Michelob Ultra Man of the
Match honors.
Pochettino
made the most of his first January camp,
giving eight players their USMNT debuts
and re-integrating several others while
winning both games. He got
a look at
19 different starters across the two
matches, and five players scored their
first international goals.
There
will be a trophy at stake the next time
the USMNT convenes. In two months, the
Americans will be
seeking a
fourth straight Concacaf Nations League
crown at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood,
Calif., where they’ll face Panama in a
March 20 semifinal. The final and
third-place playoff are three days later.
In
the 21st minute, shortly after receiving
treatment for a bloody nose, the wounded
Diego Luna dribbled through midfield
before sending a perfect through ball to
Brian White on the edge of the Costa Rican
penalty area. White took one touch to his
left, then struck a shot back toward the
right that beat the goalkeeper and rolled
inside the right post. USA 1 and CRC 0.
In
the 77th minute, timely counter-pressing
from Emeka Eneli created a turnover on the
U.S. left, and Eneli had the composure to
slide a pass toward the top of the penalty
area. Caden Clark was wide open and
whipped a first-time, left-footed shot
into the upper left corner. USA 2 and CRC
0.
In
the 90th minute, a deft, curling through
ball from DeJuan Jones found Patrick
Agyemang on the left side of the Costa
Rican penalty area. He held off Costa
Rica’s Kevin Espinoza and smashed a
left-footed effort past the goalie from a
tight angle. The final score was USA 3 and
CRC 0.
In
their most recent international outing,
the Costa Rica Team was eliminated from
the 2024 Copa América after a 2-1
victory over Paraguay.
Despite the win, the team failed to
advance to the next round.
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