After a rocky start to the tournament, the USMNT have started to play much better over their last two games to make it back to the Gold Cup semifinals. They scored a 3-0 win over Nicaragua in their final group game, the exact result which they needed to top Group A.
Manager Bruce Arena then brought out the reinforcements in the form of Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, and Jozy Altidore for the knockout rounds, and they contributed to their 2-0 win over El Salvador in the quarterfinals.
However, the Americans didn’t really play their best against the Salvadorans, who had their chances to score but were let down by bad finishing. If their play doesn’t improve drastically against Costa Rica, they risk getting knocked out for the second Gold Cup semifinal in a row.
But with the return of Dempsey, the USMNT will have the best player on the field, one capable of producing that moment of magic that can decide what should be a very closely-contested game.
Dempsey has scored three goals in the USMNT’s last six meetings against Costa Rica, with two coming from the penalty spot.
Costa Rica rode their luck a bit in their quarterfinal against Panama, but eventually won a hard-fought matchup 1-0 thanks to a fortuitous own goal. Costa Rica’s defense, which has been very solid all throughout the tournament, was excellent once again, though. They have now kept three clean sheets in four Gold Cup games.
Costa Rica has had a terrific record against the USMNT in recent years. They’ve won three of their last four meetings, which includes a 4-0 drubbing in their most recent matchup during a World Cup qualifier last November.
Star striker Joel Campbell scored twice in that historic win, Costa Rica’s biggest ever victory against the US. However, he won’t be available to Los Ticos for the semifinal after suffering a serious knee injury during the group stage against Canada.
Even with the presence of Bryan Ruiz, their attack which has been struggling to score in the tournament apart from the three goals they scored against French Guiana will be even more limited.
Writer’s Prediction
The USMNT (-110) upends Costa Rica in a closely-contested 1-0 win.
