Against a brave and well positioned Costa Rica team, USA scored twice and advance to the 2017 Gold Cup final. Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, who were two of the six changes coach Bruce Arena made for the knockout round, were the scorers in Dallas.
Even though the victory itself brought brought plenty of joy to the American supporters, which were about 40,000 fans versus the 5,000 Costa Rican ones, their excitement was at its peak when Dempsey, who came in from the bench, score the final 2-0. Dempsey’s goal marked a milestone in his career as he tied Landon Donovan’s as the record holder for most goals for the national team. In addition, this was an especial night for him since he scored the historic goal in his home state, in front of family and friends, who were with him in Dallas.
Costa Rica was not able to find a good rhythm in attack and were not able to score. The Americans moved its pieces at midfield to block Costa Rica star Bryan Ruiz, who struggled to get the ball in the first half to generate opportunities for his side. The Central American team had many chances to score throughout the match, but goalkeeper Tim Howard, another late addition, made several critical saves.
Moreover, USA used the sides and speed to penetrate a well organized defense. The ‘Ticos’ try to centralize the game to generate plays in offense, but that was the key mistake for their side. Americans Darlington Nagbe was a key play in the match. The Portland Timbers have used his versatile game in a similar manner to create chances in the attack.
Now United States will be traveling to San Clara to play the final. They are the team with the most potential to win the championship, and they could do it against their all-time rivals Mexico, or against a Jamaica team that beat them two years ago in the Gold Cup semifinal. Any team advancing to face the Americans will have a difficult task to stop a USA team who is determined to be champions.
