Why
The U.S. Got Crushed In Costa Rica
By Ridge Mahoney, Special to SI.com,
Soccer America
A crushing defeat in Costa Rica adds
even greater importance to the next
U.S. match in World Cup qualifying,
against Honduras on Saturday in
Chicago.
In Costa Rica on Wednesday, the
Americans were second-best for most
of the match in all areas of the
field and could have lost by a
greater margin. Kudos to coach Bob
Bradley for taking a few chances and
fielding an attacking lineup,
ostensibly with three up top, but
the 3-1 loss is precisely why
caution in a forbidding environment
-- not to mention being focused at
the opening whistle -- is
preferable.
Against a tough opponent on a quirky
surface with an undermanned squad,
the U.S. conceded goals by Alvaro
Saborio and Celso Borges in the
first 13 minutes. Aside from a brief
push in the second half and a
stoppage-time penalty kick by Landon
Donovan, the Americans got smacked
around, plain and simple.
A third goal, scored by substitute
right back Pablo Herrera, of all
people, in the 69th minute
effectively ended the contest. For
the second straight away match,
mirroring a poor first half in El
Salvador nine weeks ago, a sluggish
U.S. fell behind early; unlike its
rally on that occasion, the U.S. on
Wednesday lacked the intensity and
ideas required to turn around a
two-goal deficit.
Costa Rica, playing in a pressing,
aggressive 4-4-2 formation,
repeatedly overran the three-man
U.S. midfield of Pablo Mastroeni,
Michael Bradley and Jose Francisco
Torres, which enabled the hosts to
attack the Americans on the corners.
All three Costa Rican goals resulted
from errors and breakdowns on the
flanks, and while several Americans
obviously struggled to control balls
skipping and bouncing on the
notorious artificial turf at
Saprissa Stadium, the ferocity and
cohesion necessary for such a match
seldom materialized.
Saborio stunned the Americans when
he darted inside from the right
flank and knifed between Mastroeni
and Torres to swerve a spectacular
left-footed shot into the top far
corner 85 seconds after kickoff.
Costa Rica had already breached that
flank in the opening 30 seconds but
whatever warning that should have
sounded wasn't heeded.
Minutes later, a string of
breakdowns on the opposite flank --
Mastroeni applied pressure in a bad
spot, Marvell Wynne and Oguchi
Onyewu failed to react properly --
opened up enough space for Esteban
Sirias to run the ball inside and
clip a cross that Borges, who timed
his run from midfield perfectly,
drove into the net with an
impeccable first-time hit more than
a foot off the ground.
Their sharp finishing delivered both
of those goals, yet the Costa
Ricans' swift, fluid movements and
clean touches created the
opportunities. Such elements were
notably lacking in the U.S. offense,
and the insertion of three attacking
subs in the second half -- Sacha
Kljestan, Freddy Adu and Charlie
Davies -- improved the situation
only slightly.
Another crisp move produced a third
goal. Playmaker Walter Centeno, not
nearly as prominent a factor as the
score might suggest, pirouetted in
the penalty area to play the ball
wide on the right flank to Herrera,
who glided past a sluggish Bradley
into shooting range. When Carlos
Bocanegra stood his ground rather
than challenging, Herrera hit a
roller to the near post that cleanly
beat keeper Tim Howard.
Throughout this sequence, no
American got within a yard of the
ball or the player on it. Of the
three goals conceded, the ease of
this one defied belief. Whether
fatigued or shell-shocked, the U.S.
players were nothing more than
bystanders.
On the rare occasions the Americans
worked themselves and the ball into
good attacking positions, too often
balls were played not to feet, but
into space, and usually scurried out
of play. Jozy Altidore labored
heroically up front, absorbing fouls
and checking back to allow Clint
Dempsey and Donovan to get into the
attack. Donovan, though, couldn't
get past that last tackler one-v-one
to get a clear look at goal, and the
two shots he did take came from long
distance and zipped high. Dempsey
rarely looked like a crafty,
incisive forward capable of getting
a much-needed goal.
The Americans' only goal came much
too late. Onyewu drew a foul in the
penalty area as Wynne launched a
throw-in, and Donovan sent Costa
Rican goalie Keylor Navas the wrong
way to claim his 38th U.S. goal.
Michael Bradley and Kljestan picked
up their second yellow cards of the
Hexagonal and will sit out the match
against Honduras. Bob Bradley and
his players have just two days to
regain the confidence and sharpness
they will need to beat another good
regional rival.
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U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard reacted to Costa
Rica’s second goal during their 2010 World
Cup qualifying soccer match at the Ricardo
Saprissa Stadium in San Jose, Costa Rica,
Wednesday. After getting blown out 3-1 by
Costa Rica, the U.S. team will play Honduras
Saturday in Chicago. (Monica
Quesada/Reuters)
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