On Friday, the U.S Men’s National Team opened up the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers-- known as the Hex-- with a match against Mexico in Columbus, Ohio. The U.S lost a hard fought battle 2-1. But they are ready to bounce back tonight against Costa Rica.
Costa Rica and the U.S are well-worn rivals, with a record of 14-14-6. Historically, the team with home field advantage almost always wins: the U.S team is 0-8-1 in Costa Rica and 13-6-5 in the United States. Tonight, the teams will play in Costa Rica.
But the team is looking to put that history behind them.
They will have to keep their defenses sharp, with starting goalkeeper Tim Howard out with right adductor strain. Brad Guzan, who currently plays for the English Premier League club Middlesbrough and who came in at the 40th minute of the match against Mexico, will take his place.
The match against Costa Rica will be one of the toughest matches that the United States will face in the Hex, aside from their match against Mexico. The Hex is ten games spread out over the next year-- the match against Mexico was just one that they have to put behind them.
The match against Costa Rica will kick off tonight at 9:00. The match is available on BeIN Sports (English) and NBC Universo (Spanish).
