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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/nov/15/costa-rica-v-usa-world-cup-qualifying-live
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Costa Rica v USA: World Cup qualifying – live! | Costa Rica v USA: World Cup qualifying – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 2.24am GMT | |
| 02:24 | |
| 16 min Costa Rica have skill in abundance, and they’re just beginning to gain control in midfield. But Pulisic draws the foul right on the edge of the box. Waston wasn’t happy with the call, but Cesar Ramos saw it as a push. Very nice area for USA, this, on the left side of the box. | |
| 2.22am GMT | |
| 02:22 | |
| 14 min Again, Ruiz didn’t quite get a firm connection, but it’s another good save from Guzan. And a super pass from Bolanos: timed to perfection. | |
| 2.21am GMT | |
| 02:21 | |
| 13 min Guzan saves again, this time to deny Ruiz! Beautiful pass over the top from Bolanos, and Ruiz ran in behind, took it down on his chest, and tried an elaborate overhead – and Guzan saved with his noggin! | |
| 2.19am GMT | |
| 02:19 | |
| 12 min Chandler booked for a clip. Two yellows in the game already. It’s heating up. | |
| 2.19am GMT | |
| 02:19 | |
| 11 min That was a pretty good save from Guzan just then. Venegas maybe didn’t get the connection he wanted, but Guzan stood up well to block. Brooks didn’t cover himself in glory, though – in trying to challenge Venegas, he looked about as nimble as an ocean liner. | |
| 2.17am GMT | |
| 02:17 | |
| 10 min Johnson blasts it into the wall. Groan. | |
| 2.17am GMT | |
| 02:17 | |
| 9 min At the other end, Altidore is causing mayhem, and Salvatierra is penalised for a cynical pull on the USA forward. Yellow for the Costa Rican right-back, and a good chance from the free kick. | |
| 2.15am GMT | |
| 02:15 | |
| 7 min Save from Guzan, and that was important! Venegas breezed past Brooks – that was way too easy – and poked one at goal from eight yards, but Guzan saved with his legs! Corner to Costa Rica, which comes to nothing. | |
| 2.13am GMT | |
| 02:13 | |
| 5 min Costa Rica have started sloppily. USA doing fine on what looks like a pretty heavy pitch. | |
| 2.11am GMT | |
| 02:11 | |
| 3 min Chandler wins a corner off Matarrita. Bradley takes, and Brooks can’t get the direction on the header! Brooks got free of his marker, but flubbed it. Chance. | |
| 2.09am GMT | |
| 02:09 | |
| 2 min Minor flare-up between Brooks and Venegas. Venegas was late, and Brooks wasn’t happy. Cesar Ramos cools things down. No harm done. | |
| 2.07am GMT | |
| 02:07 | |
| 1 min And we’re off! Costa Rica in their traditional red, blue and white. USA in their black strip. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.08am GMT | |
| 2.02am GMT | |
| 02:02 | |
| Anthems playing now. We’re moments away. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.05am GMT | |
| 2.02am GMT | |
| 02:02 | |
| Some MLS interest in the Costa Rican team tonight: Christian Bolanos and Kendall Waston of Vancouver are included in the starting XI, as are Ronald Matarrita of NYC FC and Johan Venegas of Montreal. | |
| 1.59am GMT | |
| 01:59 | |
| In Concacaf’s other game, Panama are playing Mexico in Panama right now. We’ll keep you up to date with goings-on there. | |
| 1.57am GMT | |
| 01:57 | |
| Looks pretty full at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose – it’s about 35,000 capacity. Guns N’ Roses play here a week on Saturday, actually, if you like that sort of thing. | |
| 1.47am GMT | 1.47am GMT |
| 01:47 | 01:47 |
| A bit of admin from elsewhere: Honduras beat Trinidad & Tobago 3-1 in Concacaf, which means T&T stay bottom with zero points, and Honduras bounce back from their home defeat by Panama on Friday. | A bit of admin from elsewhere: Honduras beat Trinidad & Tobago 3-1 in Concacaf, which means T&T stay bottom with zero points, and Honduras bounce back from their home defeat by Panama on Friday. |
| And in Conmebol, Argentina have just beaten Colombia 3-0, while Electric Sanchez scored two in Chile’s 3-1 defeat of Uruguay. Claudio Bravo saved Luis Suarez’s penalty with three minutes to go in that game, incidentally. | And in Conmebol, Argentina have just beaten Colombia 3-0, while Electric Sanchez scored two in Chile’s 3-1 defeat of Uruguay. Claudio Bravo saved Luis Suarez’s penalty with three minutes to go in that game, incidentally. |
| All of which means that with six games to go, it’s Colombia who are currently on the outside looking in. More results and tables here. | All of which means that with six games to go, it’s Colombia who are currently on the outside looking in. More results and tables here. |
| 1.35am GMT | 1.35am GMT |
| 01:35 | 01:35 |
| So Jürgen Klinsmann picks basically the same side that lost to Mexico, apart from Guzan in goal, but he does revert to a 4-4-2 formation. | So Jürgen Klinsmann picks basically the same side that lost to Mexico, apart from Guzan in goal, but he does revert to a 4-4-2 formation. |
| Timmy Chandler will begin at right-back, John Brooks and Omar Gonzalez line up in central defense, and Matt Besler starts left back. Pulisic and Johnson will begin in the wide positions, and Alejandro Bedoya will take no part because of tightness in his left hamstring. | Timmy Chandler will begin at right-back, John Brooks and Omar Gonzalez line up in central defense, and Matt Besler starts left back. Pulisic and Johnson will begin in the wide positions, and Alejandro Bedoya will take no part because of tightness in his left hamstring. |
| 1.32am GMT | 1.32am GMT |
| 01:32 | 01:32 |
| Tonight's teams | Tonight's teams |
| Costa Rica: Keylor Navas, Alvarado, Salvatierra, Umana, Borges, Bolanos, Ruiz, Venegas, Azofeifa, Waston, Matarrita. Subs: Pemberton, Moreira, Salazar, Oviedo, Rodriguez, Campbell, Wallace, Miranda, Guzman, Urena. | Costa Rica: Keylor Navas, Alvarado, Salvatierra, Umana, Borges, Bolanos, Ruiz, Venegas, Azofeifa, Waston, Matarrita. Subs: Pemberton, Moreira, Salazar, Oviedo, Rodriguez, Campbell, Wallace, Miranda, Guzman, Urena. |
| USA: Guzan, Gonzalez, Bradley, Besler, Brooks, Wood, Pulisic, Jones, Altidore, Chandler, Johnson. Subs: Horvath, Yarbrough, Yedlin, Gordon, Johannsson, Gooch, Orozco, Birnbaum, Kljestan, Green, Zusi, Carter-Vickers. | USA: Guzan, Gonzalez, Bradley, Besler, Brooks, Wood, Pulisic, Jones, Altidore, Chandler, Johnson. Subs: Horvath, Yarbrough, Yedlin, Gordon, Johannsson, Gooch, Orozco, Birnbaum, Kljestan, Green, Zusi, Carter-Vickers. |
| Referee: Cesar Ramos (Mexico) | Referee: Cesar Ramos (Mexico) |
| 1.18am GMT | 1.18am GMT |
| 01:18 | 01:18 |
| Hello and welcome | Hello and welcome |
| USA lost to Mexico on Friday; they could do with victory in Costa Rica today in their second game of the Concacaf Hex. If they don’t win, qualification for Russia 2018 might start to get away from them. One problem: USA have never won in Costa Rica – in nine games there, they’ve lost eight. Eight! Also, Costa Rica are good, ranked 18 in the world to USA’s 24. Tim Howard is injured, Brad Guzan comes in, and Klinsmann’s nerves might start to fray a little if his team don’t start well in San Jose. | USA lost to Mexico on Friday; they could do with victory in Costa Rica today in their second game of the Concacaf Hex. If they don’t win, qualification for Russia 2018 might start to get away from them. One problem: USA have never won in Costa Rica – in nine games there, they’ve lost eight. Eight! Also, Costa Rica are good, ranked 18 in the world to USA’s 24. Tim Howard is injured, Brad Guzan comes in, and Klinsmann’s nerves might start to fray a little if his team don’t start well in San Jose. |
| Kick off is 9.05pm ET. This could be intriguing. | Kick off is 9.05pm ET. This could be intriguing. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.19am GMT | at 1.19am GMT |
| 10.03pm GMT | 10.03pm GMT |
| 22:03 | 22:03 |
| Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s what Jürgen Klinsmann needs to do: | Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s what Jürgen Klinsmann needs to do: |
| The big issues for Klinsmann were in defense on Friday. The three center-backs who started the game were pulled all over the place, while on the outside Fabian Johnson and Timothy Chandler had limited impact other than giving up space. Eventually Chandler made way for DeAndre Yedlin, and you’d imagine Yedlin might start on Tuesday. | The big issues for Klinsmann were in defense on Friday. The three center-backs who started the game were pulled all over the place, while on the outside Fabian Johnson and Timothy Chandler had limited impact other than giving up space. Eventually Chandler made way for DeAndre Yedlin, and you’d imagine Yedlin might start on Tuesday. |
| One player who won’t be starting on Tuesday is Tim Howard, who picked up a season-ending abductor injury against Mexico. So Brad Guzan, currently frozen out at Middlesbrough, will get another chance in goal. | One player who won’t be starting on Tuesday is Tim Howard, who picked up a season-ending abductor injury against Mexico. So Brad Guzan, currently frozen out at Middlesbrough, will get another chance in goal. |
| Klinsmann cannot afford another poor start, and his team probably need to keep sight of the fact that under the circumstances, not losing further ground to a likely rival in the final standings is preferable to being picked off for a loss while over-committing. It might be very telling who he chooses to use as a substitute though, if the game is tight heading into the closing stages. If you see Sacha Kljestan coming in, to try and pass behind the defense or drift into pockets of space in front of them, you’ll know that Klinsmann believes his team control their own destiny and just need some finesse. If you see Alan Gordon warming up, know that Klinsmann just needs a goal, any goal. | Klinsmann cannot afford another poor start, and his team probably need to keep sight of the fact that under the circumstances, not losing further ground to a likely rival in the final standings is preferable to being picked off for a loss while over-committing. It might be very telling who he chooses to use as a substitute though, if the game is tight heading into the closing stages. If you see Sacha Kljestan coming in, to try and pass behind the defense or drift into pockets of space in front of them, you’ll know that Klinsmann believes his team control their own destiny and just need some finesse. If you see Alan Gordon warming up, know that Klinsmann just needs a goal, any goal. |
| So it’s early in the Hex, but the major themes for the group, and the tenor for the USA’s campaign in particular, could be set by Tuesday night. | So it’s early in the Hex, but the major themes for the group, and the tenor for the USA’s campaign in particular, could be set by Tuesday night. |