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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| USA v Costa Rica: Copa América – live! | USA v Costa Rica: Copa América – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.33am BST | |
| 01:33 | |
| 26 min: Zardes smacks it into the side netting after just beating the offside trap. But the ball was a little too heavy for him and he had to shoot from a steep angle. “Watching in Spanish [free!] and still marveling that the US, Wood perhaps aside, may have the oldest starting team in the Copa,” says Sam in Texas. “How long can they keep on this way? Purely [mostly] rhetorical question.” They just need to bring on Christian Pulisic, 3, and they’ll get their average age down by a few years. | |
| 1.30am BST | |
| 01:30 | |
| 23 min: Johnson flies in to intercept a ball that almost catches Guzan out. Sharp defending, right there although the Villa keeper probably had it covered. | |
| 1.28am BST | |
| 01:28 | |
| 21 min: Wood charges forward and then tries to chip the ball into Bedoya. But Bedoya is minding his own business elsewhere and the ball sails through to Pemberton in the Costa Rica goal. “Surely I can’t be the only one who, when seeing Joel Campbell, can only think of his heinous dive against the US in 2013 to get Matt Besler suspended,” says JR in Illinois. “I’m not even a USA supporter but I’ll never forgive Campbell for that.” | |
| 1.25am BST | |
| 01:25 | |
| 18 min: Costa Rica are playing keep ball, they’ve still had the better of the game (the small matter of the goal aside). Saborio replaces Urena, who looks to have injured hid shoulder after falling awkwardly. | |
| 1.22am BST | |
| 01:22 | |
| 15 min: Yedlin loses the ball before tearing back to win the ball. He’s been enthusiastic this game - and did well in the lead up to the penalty - but has looked a little suspect at the back. | |
| happy 50, #deuceface! RT @ussoccer: GOAL! @clint_dempsey converts the penalty for his 50th career score! #USAvCRC pic.twitter.com/63dGk73iSI | |
| 1.19am BST | |
| 01:19 | |
| 13 min: Now Jones surges forward clipping it to Johnson on the wing. He plays a nice ball in to Zardes’s feet in the area (the rest of Zardes is in the area too, there wasn’t some hideous dismemberment beforehand) but the forward can’t control the pass. | |
| 1.18am BST | |
| 01:18 | |
| 11 min: Well, that should settle US nerves after an iffy start. It was a great build-up to the penalty with some intelligent, calm passing. The best spell of play from the US this tournament. It was also Dempsey’s 50th goal for his country. | |
| 1.16am BST | |
| 01:16 | |
| GOAL! USA 1-0 Costa Rica (Dempsey, pen 8) | |
| Dempsey is made to wait as the keeper chats about the weather with the ref. But it’s a lovely penalty, low to the keeper’s left and into the far corner. | |
| 1.14am BST | |
| 01:14 | |
| Penalty to the US! | |
| The US get it out of their half for the first time and there’s some nice play on the edge of the area before a cross is heaved in from Yedlin. Wood is clearly pushed and the ref points to the spot. | |
| 1.12am BST | |
| 01:12 | |
| 6 min: Not great for the US so far. Some nervy defending in the area, mainly consisting of thrashing wildly at the ball in an attempt to clear it. Campbell then latches on to a laughable clearance from Yedlin and screws the ball wide. But not by much. | |
| 1.10am BST | |
| 01:10 | |
| 3 min: Campbell swing a cross-shot in from the right, which Guzan gathers comfortably. Some early pressure from Los Ticos here - they need a win as much as the US do with Colombia up next. | |
| 1.08am BST | |
| 01:08 | |
| 1 min: And we’re off. The US in black and Costa Rica in white, which should keep things simple. And some early support for Klinsmann too: | |
| “Fire Klinsmann” banner hanging in lower corner of Soldier Field #USAvCRC | |
| Tom Dart is at Soldier Field and has an update on the atmosphere: “Good noise from the USA fans behind the goals. All the same, a poor crowd - one of the upper tiers along the side is completely empty. It’s also relatively cold - only 60F.” | |
| 1.04am BST | |
| 01:04 | |
| Will the organizers manage to play the correct national anthems? The Costa Rica one appears to be right - Los Ticos are singing along anyway. It’s a jaunty number too with plenty of strings. The US anthem is also played correctly too! Two out of two Copa America! Well done! | |
| There are gaps in the stands, by the way. It would appear Jay Cutler is a bigger draw than Brad Guzan. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.04am BST | |
| 1.00am BST | |
| 01:00 | |
| The teams are out on the field. There was a delay as Costa Rica left the US waiting as the teams gather in the tunnel, the wily Ticos. Jürgen looks cheery, shaking hands - if he’s feeling the pressure he’s doing a good job of disguising it. The ref, Roger Zambrano of Ecuador, is ripped by the way. Do not talk back to this man if he books you. | |
| 12.53am BST | 12.53am BST |
| 00:53 | 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. | 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 | 12.36am BST |
| 00:36 | 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: | 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 | The #USMNT has arrived at @SoldierField for #USAvCRC. pic.twitter.com/JajeDueb2h |
| 12.32am BST | 12.32am BST |
| 00:32 | 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. | 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 |