USA v Costa Rica Gold Cup 25’ Recap

The USMNT sure has the attention of American soccer fans. For better or worse, the recent results and changes within the program have flooded the field with lots of questions from all sides of the game. The current climate surrounding the team over the last year can simply be described as turbulent. A poor performance this past Spring seemingly led to a divided roster leading into Summer friendlies and the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2025; the final tournament leading into next years FIFA World Cup. The majority of American fans have bounced across the spectrum between hopeful optimism and conditioned pessimism, as a final opportunity to find traction approached. The ‘Summer of Soccer’ has brought a lot of matches to U.S. soil, although a number of voids including the U. S. roster and American stadium attendance are pertinent during an integral time for the growth of soccer culture within our nation. With a depleted roster, the USMNT took a string of harsh losses then quickly rose to the occasion, winning the group stage of a major stepping stone. The Gold Cup is a tournament that favors the American squad l, although the high octane region of CONCACAF leaves many games a toss-up. Wins against Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti were well received by fans, while the upcoming knockout rounds create enough pressure the push the meter back towards a sense of pessimism. A quarterfinals against Costa Rica would be more impactful than could be imagined.

What’s been continually called a ‘B-squad’ for the American starters is not that to me. After underwhelming performances from our prior ‘A-squad’, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for other players to seize and showcase a higher level of hunger and ability to perform. The timing of this opportunity couldn’t be more golden with its proximity to next World Cup 2026.  Yet, CONCACAF continues to be a barfight where sucker punches are known to knock out contenders.

The U.S. opened against Costa Rica with a sense of confidence that lasted a total of 12 minutes before a poor decision from Max Arfsten gifted a penalty for Costa Rica.  Francisco Calvo confidently buried the ball behind American goalkeeper Matt Freese, whose fingertips were not enough to tally the save. A familiar sense of disappointment seemed to infiltrate the excited American following, as the Central American underdogs led 1-0. The U.S. received the wake up call and settled into regained possession of the ball, but didn’t seem to showcase an obvious sense of urgency, ..except for the most urgent player on our roster, Diego Luna, who found the net for his first national team goal after relentlessly hunting an equalizer. This 43rd minute goal was very much needed for a level half time address from USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, who clearly recognize the importance of the moment.
The second half started with a blatant sense of new life within the US team. Pochettino had obviously sent a message through the players. The US capitalized with an immediate goal from Max Arfsen after a strong buildup and perfectly weighted assist from Malik Tillman. This 2-1 lead was a quick turnaround from trailing earlier, and the Americans were able to keep the high pace and level of intensity. Until a sucker punch from Alonso Martinez leveled the score in a matter of seconds.  With 19 minutes left of play, the game opened up with chances going both ways including a near 90degree goal in the final minutes from Costa Rica. The fear of conceding a late game winner was present, but sat adjacent to the heavy feeling of facing legendary goalkeeper Keylor Navas in penalties. The Gold Cup rulebook eliminated overtime this tournament pushing draws in the knockout rounds directly to penalty shootouts (*Finals to have full 30 minute overtime if needed). Malik Tillman teased a possible winner while Costa Rica’s final efforts came up equally short.  Penalties against Navas would decide a major moment in the state of U.S. Soccer.

Former goalkeeping star of Real Madrid and PSG, Keylor Navas seemed to have the upper hand as his reputation proceeded him in opposition to MLS Keeper Matt Freese. The U.S. goalkeeping position and its occupancy had been one of the biggest questions going into the tournament. Another golden opportunity for a hungry American player. What followed is one of the best penalty shootout performances from a goalkeeper that I’ve ever witnessed across the sport. The Costa Rican legend looked incredibly strong, but the moment would be completely owned by the American Matt Freese. After conceding the opening attempt, Freese then proceeded to guess correctly on the following 7 shots including efforts all over the face of goal. The extended rounds of penalty attempts only allowed Matt freeze more time to find the zone. The American goalkeeper seemed to become a star in a matter of mind-blowing minutes. The impressive stat line of 3 saves could have somehow been 5 had it been for a matter of inches. The explosive  celebrations after calculated saves showcased a level of skill that had not been seen by the American collective. The game was closed out by a final penalty from Damion Downs, although the win was glowingly mounted upon the back of GK Matt Freese.

An amazing sense of success took over as American fans celebrated a historic moment in the tumultuous build up to the World Cup. An ecstatic feeling continued to impress in reflecting on the Americans goalkeepers performance. Strong performances from Malik Tillman, Diego Luna and Chris Richard’s also locked in a lot of potential answers towards the starting 11. Mauricio Pochettino showed an emotional level of passion throughout the win that could only be loved by American fans. This is what the USMNT needed and needs to carry on moving forward. What a big win for the Americans.

When all is said and done, the USMNT should be beating Costa Rica when it matters. Albeit to close for comfort, the 4-3 win came with a handful of additional wins for the U.S. program. Many of the questions that existed going into this match found answers that felt right. The American program just may have found the traction it needs in the recent turbulent weather. An upcoming match up against the tournament Cinderella team of Guatemala will not be easy as it never is, but should be another great opportunity to continue in the direction of success for the Americans. Wednesday’s matchup will be another must win, as the USMNT build the American fandom, culture and trajectory that will be required for a chance to truly contend at the 2026 World Cup.