Mexico vs. Costa Rica
July 19 | 7:30 pm ET | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
FOX Sports 1, Univision, UDN, Sportsnet One
The Gold Cup quarterfinals saved the best for last, with Mexico and Costa Rica facing off in a battle of two CONCACAF heavyweights in the final match of the weekend. Neither side met expectations during the group stage, with Mexico shockingly finishing second in Group C and Costa Rica scrapping out three straight draws to finish as runners-up in Group B.
Both paid the price for their underwhelming group play results, as one of the regional powers will see their tournament end in the Meadowlands on Sunday.
MONEY TIME FOR MEXICO: After thumping Cuba 6-0 in their tournament opener, it didn’t look like Mexico would have any problems navigating Group C. Then they failed to find the back of the net in a scoreless draw against 10-man Guatemala. Then they coughed up two leads in a stunning 4-4 tie against Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday.
Now they have the tough Ticos on tap in the quarters, and face the prospect of getting bounced from the tournament before the semifinals for the first time since falling to guest side Colombia in the 2005 quarters.
With anything short of a Gold Cup title likely to be considered a disaster south of the border, the pressure is squarely on manager Miguel “Piojo” Herrera and El Tri. Making matters worse? New LA Galaxy signing Giovani Dos Santos is unlikely to play in Sunday’s match after picking up an injury in the first half of Wednesday’s draw.
TICO MAGIC?: Costa Rica were the darlings of the 2014 World Cup, shocking everyone by beating Uruguay and Italy and drawing England to win Group D, topping Greece in PK’s in the Round of 16 and forcing eventual third-place finishers the Netherlands to a shootout in the quarterfinals.
The wheels have fallen off since Brazil, with Los Ticos yet to win a game in 2015. Like Mexico, they were underwhelming in the group stage, playing Jamaica, El Salvador and Canada to three successive draws to finish second in Group B. They have the star-power to challenge Mexico – who they drew 2-2 in a pre-Gold Cup friendly in Orlando on June 27 – but Joel Campbell, Bryan Ruiz and Giancarlo Gonzalez will need to show a little bit more of what made them breakout stars in Brazil if they’re to advance to the semis.
