Few people think the USMNT’s play in the group stage of Copa America will prove a cake walk. No doubt Colombia, against whom they open the tournament on June 3, will prove especially tough. But the US could face a special challenge from Costa Rica, who they face on Tuesday, June 7 (8 pm ET, FS1)
In a pre-tournament friendly, Costa Rica’s national team just beat Venezuela 2-1. As recapped in this live-blog form Depor.com, Venezuela’s Salomon Rondon opened the scoring at 30’, but Costa Rica’s Cristian Gamboa equalized just 11 minutes later, and at 55’ Ariel Rodriguez scored the game-winner.
Costa Rica’s final 23-man squad for Copa America features five MLS players, who will likely be familiar with the USMNT’s own 11 MLS men. The USMNT, meanwhile, is looking pretty good after Darlington Nagbe took them to a 90th-minute 1-0 win over Ecuador this past Wednesday in Frisco. One thing’s for sure: In this tournament, there are no sure bets.
