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USMNT vs. Costa Rica live blog and highlights

Follow along live as the USMNT faces Los Ticos in a crucial CONCACAF qualifying match.

Trinidad & Tobago v United States - FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

FINAL SCORE — USA 0-2 Costa Rica

Everything that could go wrong did for the Americans on Friday night. They had more shots and more of the ball, but made some poor individual errors at the back and were punished for them. The USMNT now must avoid defeat in Honduras on Tuesday. You can read a recap of USA vs. Costa Rica here.


90’ — Clint Dempsey throws an elbow and gets a yellow card. Very lucky to not get sent off.


84’ — Jordan Morris is on to replace Graham Zusi. Paul Arriola is also on, with Pulisic coming off.


GOAL! USA 0-2 Costa Rica

Uh oh, the USMNT is in huge trouble now. Geoff Cameron gives the ball away, Marco Ureña splits the defense and scores past Howard.


80’ — Jozy Altidore is getting frustrated and gets a yellow card for arguing with the referee. He’s suspended against Honduras.


75’ — Clint Dempsey tripped in the box on a free kick, but no call. He gives the referee a death stare.


67’ — After a blocked free kick, Christian Pulisic has his follow-up shot deflected, and Keylor Navas comes up with an incredible late reaction stop.


64’ — With the USMNT not creating much against a bunkered defense, Clint Dempsey enters the game. He replaces Jorge Villafaña, and Fabian Johnson moves to left back. The thin USMNT midfield gets thinner.


50’ — Celso Borges makes an amazing tackle on Bobby Wood. It’s called as a foul. This referee is very bad.


47’ — Tim Ream has a chance to make up for his earlier error, but misses his header off a corner kick.


46’ — And we’re back. No changes, but expect to see Clint Dempsey by the 60th minute if the USMNT doesn’t score before then.


HALFTIME — USA 0-1 Costa Rica

Bad news for the USMNT so far. They’ve looked dangerous, but their risky lineup gifted Costa Rica a golden chance, and Los Ticos took it. A much better second half is needed from the Americans. If it’s not clear how serious this is for them:


Bruce Arena took a risk picking a team with one actual midfielder. It doesn’t look good and is letting Costa Rica generate dangerous counter-attacks.


39’ — Altidore beats two defenders and squares for Pulisic, but his shot is blocked by Waston. The big Vancouver Whitecaps defender seems to be the man shutting down every American chance.


Here’s a screenshot from the ESPN broadcast, with Taylor Twellman breaking down the Costa Rica goal. Ouch. Look at how much space Ureña has to run into.


30’ — GOAL! USA 0-1 Costa Rica

The Americans have been on top in this game, but their defense has been shaky, and it costs them. Marco Ureña turns Tim Ream inside-out, then beats Tim Howard at the far post from a narrow angle. Bad defending and questionable goalkeeping.


26’ — Michael Bradley slips in Altidore, who squares towards Pulisic in the six-yard box, but Waston gets around him and clears it. Inches away from being a tap-in, Keylor Navas was beaten.


24’ — The referee penalizes Jozy Altidore for being large. He gets hacked down in the box by Kendall Waston, but the ref apparently thinks he goes down easy. Should have been a penalty. On a follow-up chance from the center of the box a few seconds later, Pulisic misses.


21’ — Fantastic Nagbe-Altidore give-and-go to get into the box, but Costa Rica’s defense holds firm. The American attack is looking dangerous, they just need some finishing... and for their defense to stop turning the ball over.


16’ — Great American counter-attack, but Pulisic shanks a cross/shot out for a goal kick. Should have been able to square it towards Bobby Wood on the top of the six. Still, a promising move for the USMNT, they moved box-to-box very quickly and crisply.


13’ — Guzman finally gets a yellow card after hacking down Pulisic. Not great for Costa Rica, who need him to be an enforcer.


7’ — Bad turnover by Tim Ream sends Costa Rica on the counter, but Jorge Villafaña eventually comes up with a good clearance.


4’ — Teammate on teammate violence. Darlington Nagbe is down after a heavy challenge from fellow Portland Timbers midfielder David Guzman. No card given.


1’ — Kickoff! We’re not expecting this one to be wide-open, but you never know. Costa Rica is playing a defensive team, clearly OK with a draw. Christian Pulisic is going to be huge for the USMNT.


And here’s the AO banner: If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.


Rare stadium-wide choreography! Usually this stuff gets limited to the AO section. U.S. Soccer pulling out all the stops.


On Friday night, the United States men’s national team faces a crucial match in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. Having lost one home game and failed to win on the road so far, the Americans have little room for error. Bruce Arena’s squad needs to win its home games to feel like it can make the World Cup without help, including its tricky match against Costa Rica in New Jersey.

Costa Rica and the United States both made the last World Cup, and they’re both expected to make it to Russia 2018 as well. Los Ticos have 11 points from six games and sit second in the Hex, while the Americans have eight points and hold third place. The top three teams in CONCACAF qualify automatically for the World Cup, while fourth place goes into an intercontinental playoff.

The first match between these two teams didn’t go well for the United States, who lost 4-0 in Costa Rica, triggering a coaching change. The USMNT won a rematch during the Gold Cup, winning 2-0, but Los Ticos did not have some of their top players. The USMNT was also without Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron and Christian Pulisic.

All three of those players start on Friday, and are expected to be impact players for the USMNT. But they’ll have a tough time scoring on Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who is back between the sticks for Costa Rica.

This is a live blog, and will update constantly throughout the match.

USMNT vs. Costa Rica lineups (left to right)

United States (4-1-3-2): Tim Howard; Jorge Villafaña, Tim Ream, Geoff Cameron, Graham Zusi; Michael Bradley; Fabian Johnson, Christian Pulisic, Darlington Nagbe; Jozy Altidore, Bobby Wood

Costa Rica (3-4-3): Keylor Navas; Francisco Calvo, Johnny Acosta, Kendall Waston; Bryan Oviedo, Celso Borges, David Guzman, Cristian Gamboa; Bryan Ruiz, Marco Ureña, Cristian Bolaños

How to watch USMNT vs. Costa Rica online

You have two options if you’re in the United States. For most, the easiest will be WatchESPN, which has the English language feed. If you don’t have access or just prefer to watch in Spanish, the game is also on Univision Deportes en vivo.

USA vs. Costa Rica time, TV and match info

  • Time: 6:55 p.m. ET
  • Location: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ
  • TV: ESPN (English), Univision (Spanish)

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