3-1
The U.S. Men's National Team went south to Costa Rica for a World Cup Qualifier rematch. Costa Rica have been vocal about their protest of the first meeting in March that featured a snow storm in Colorado.
Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan started for the U.S. while Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore were out with injuries.
Costa Rica got off to a perfect start and scored two goals in the first ten minutes of the match. Defender Acosta got forward on a corner and scored a near-post header (2)'. Shortly after Bolaños delivered a cross that setup Borges in the box for another header finish (10').
Late in the first-half the U.S. got one back when a penalty was given following a foul by keeper Navas. Fabian Johnson was tripped by Navas trying to reach a loose ball in the box and saw a yellow card for the infraction. Dempsey stepped up to take the penalty and he was successful from the spot (43'). His shot was practically right down the middle and Navas got behind the ball, but he could not turn the shot away from his goal.
The second-half started to look better for the United States as Costa Rica played more defensive to protect their lead. This allowed the U.S. to possess more and press forward. However one big play by Costa Rican forward Campbell took all the wind out the sails for the U.S. A long pass out of the back released Campbell who beat defender Besler in a foot race to the ball. Campbell finished confidently, going through the legs keeper Howard coming off his line (75').
This loss snaps a twelve game winning streak for the United States, but more importantly it keeps the race to the 2014 World Cup much tighter. The United States will host Mexico on Tuesday in another important World Cup qualifier.
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