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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| USA v Costa Rica: Copa América – live! | USA v Costa Rica: Copa América – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.53am BST | |
| 00:53 | |
| The Fox panel all say a USA win tonight - the consensus is that the US will perform with their backs against the wall, and a home crowd to cheer them on. I’m going for a 1-1 draw myself, Costa Rica are a hard team to beat and I didn’t see too much creativity for the US against Colombia last week. | |
| 12.36am BST | |
| 00:36 | |
| A video of some men in tracksuits walking on a field, on which some of the same men will be running about later: | |
| The #USMNT has arrived at @SoldierField for #USAvCRC. pic.twitter.com/JajeDueb2h | |
| 12.32am BST | |
| 00:32 | |
| The obligatory post where I have to pull out a fact about Costa Rica and note that it doesn’t have an army (side note: America does have an army). As for their football team, if your job as a coach was on the line this isn’t a team you would necessarily want to face. In the last World Cup they didn’t do much, except win a group compromising of three former World Cup winners (Italy, England and Uruguay) before beating a former European champion (on penalties, Greece) and only going out on penalties to Holland. That meant they didn’t lose a single game in regulation in the 2014 World Cup. They’re also undefeated in World Cup qualifying for 2018, with three wins a draw. So, absolutely no danger of defeat here for the US. | |
| 12.23am BST | 12.23am BST |
| 00:23 | 00:23 |
| Is Klinsmann’s job in danger? Sunil Gulati, the silver fox of football administrators, met with reporters before tonight’s game to discuss the coach’s future. And while Jürgen shouldn’t be skimming the Big Book of Job Ads just yet, it’s pretty clear he could be in trouble if the US don’t get out of the group stage in this tournament. The Washington Post has the interview in detail but here’s Gulati on Klinsmann: | Is Klinsmann’s job in danger? Sunil Gulati, the silver fox of football administrators, met with reporters before tonight’s game to discuss the coach’s future. And while Jürgen shouldn’t be skimming the Big Book of Job Ads just yet, it’s pretty clear he could be in trouble if the US don’t get out of the group stage in this tournament. The Washington Post has the interview in detail but here’s Gulati on Klinsmann: |
| Results are what matter and everyone understands that. Results of the last 18 months overall haven’t been what we would have hoped for, especially in the official competitions. We had some good results last spring that were friendlies, we had some wins coming into this event, but it’s the official competitions that matter the most and we haven’t been up to where we would like to be. We will look at everything after this competition. | Results are what matter and everyone understands that. Results of the last 18 months overall haven’t been what we would have hoped for, especially in the official competitions. We had some good results last spring that were friendlies, we had some wins coming into this event, but it’s the official competitions that matter the most and we haven’t been up to where we would like to be. We will look at everything after this competition. |
| Not exactly a glowing endorsement ... | Not exactly a glowing endorsement ... |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.24am BST | at 12.24am BST |
| 12.14am BST | 12.14am BST |
| 00:14 | 00:14 |
| Tonight, I think, we see how good the US are in this tournament. I was at the opener against Colombia and the US were thoroughly outplayed. But then again - according to Fifa at least - Colombia are one of the five best teams in the world, so what do you expect? Well, maybe a bit more creativity from the US but it was disaster to lose to Colombia. Tonight though? Against Costa Rica on home soil? A draw is the very least they should achieve. | Tonight, I think, we see how good the US are in this tournament. I was at the opener against Colombia and the US were thoroughly outplayed. But then again - according to Fifa at least - Colombia are one of the five best teams in the world, so what do you expect? Well, maybe a bit more creativity from the US but it was disaster to lose to Colombia. Tonight though? Against Costa Rica on home soil? A draw is the very least they should achieve. |
| 12.10am BST | 12.10am BST |
| 00:10 | 00:10 |
| The teams | The teams |
| Good evening, and early team news from Chicago. The US will start with the same XI that took on Colombia to not great effect: | Good evening, and early team news from Chicago. The US will start with the same XI that took on Colombia to not great effect: |
| Here is the #USMNT Starting XI for #USAvCRC. #Copa100 pic.twitter.com/gLsnTIEOYb | Here is the #USMNT Starting XI for #USAvCRC. #Copa100 pic.twitter.com/gLsnTIEOYb |
| While Costa Rica win the opening skirmish with a tweet that scrolls through their line-up in real time. They’ve won me over already (NOTE: ALL COMMENTARY TONIGHT WILL BE IMPARTIAL): | While Costa Rica win the opening skirmish with a tweet that scrolls through their line-up in real time. They’ve won me over already (NOTE: ALL COMMENTARY TONIGHT WILL BE IMPARTIAL): |
| Así alinea #LaSele esta noche para enfrentar a @ussoccer, en su segundo juego en #CopaAmerica #VamosTicos @CA2016 pic.twitter.com/kW7Sm3gw15 | Así alinea #LaSele esta noche para enfrentar a @ussoccer, en su segundo juego en #CopaAmerica #VamosTicos @CA2016 pic.twitter.com/kW7Sm3gw15 |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.24am BST | at 12.24am BST |
| 7.08pm BST | 7.08pm BST |
| 19:08 | 19:08 |
| Tom will be here shortly. In the meantime have a look at Tom Dart’s preview of tonight’s match: | Tom will be here shortly. In the meantime have a look at Tom Dart’s preview of tonight’s match: |
| At [Jürgen Klinsmann’s] press conference on Monday he came close to sounding like the the coach of a youth programme where even the losers get a participation medal when he said he was pleased with the “good” performance. | At [Jürgen Klinsmann’s] press conference on Monday he came close to sounding like the the coach of a youth programme where even the losers get a participation medal when he said he was pleased with the “good” performance. |
| If the Colombia loss was “totally even” apart from the score, as Klinsmann told reporters on Friday, that seemed mainly a function of a risk-averse opponent looking content to sit on their 2-0 half-time lead against a team that lacked a coherent attack. | If the Colombia loss was “totally even” apart from the score, as Klinsmann told reporters on Friday, that seemed mainly a function of a risk-averse opponent looking content to sit on their 2-0 half-time lead against a team that lacked a coherent attack. |
| Though a defeat to one of the world’s best teams in which both goals came from isolated individual errors is hardly cause for self-flagellation, there is no column in the standings called “mitigating circumstances”. Right now, the US are bottom of the four-team group and Klinsmann will ultimately be judged on his results with the same kind of uncompromising ruthlessness that he applies to his young players. | Though a defeat to one of the world’s best teams in which both goals came from isolated individual errors is hardly cause for self-flagellation, there is no column in the standings called “mitigating circumstances”. Right now, the US are bottom of the four-team group and Klinsmann will ultimately be judged on his results with the same kind of uncompromising ruthlessness that he applies to his young players. |
| But Costa Rica and Paraguay could only draw 0-0 in their opening Group A game in Orlando on Saturday, so a win on Tuesday would put the Americans in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals. And neither country is as daunting as Colombia. | But Costa Rica and Paraguay could only draw 0-0 in their opening Group A game in Orlando on Saturday, so a win on Tuesday would put the Americans in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals. And neither country is as daunting as Colombia. |
| While there was a natural tendency to attach profound importance to the opening game of not only the group but the entire competition, Tuesday’s is the pivotal occasion. How Klinsmann’s charges fare against an eminently beatable side is a far stronger portent of whether they will achieve the bare minimum: progressing out of the group. | While there was a natural tendency to attach profound importance to the opening game of not only the group but the entire competition, Tuesday’s is the pivotal occasion. How Klinsmann’s charges fare against an eminently beatable side is a far stronger portent of whether they will achieve the bare minimum: progressing out of the group. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 7.08pm BST | at 7.08pm BST |