USMNT Beat Costa Rica 3-0 At January Camp
Brian White and Caden Clark Collect First Career Goals Before Substitute Patrick Agyemang Bagged Second in as Many Matches;
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen Makes Three Saves and Keeps Clean Sheet in First USMNT Appearance Since March 2022; USMNT Improves to 5W-1L-0D Under Pochettino
USA 3 Costa Rica 0
Report by USSoccer.com
An exquisite first-half link-up between striker Brian White and a bloodied Diego Luna and a triumphant return by goalkeeper Zack Steffen helped spark the U.S. Men’s National Team to a hard-fought 3-0 shutout win over Costa Rica in Wednesday’s friendly in Orlando, Fla.
Caden Clark and Patrick Agyemang added second-half goals and the Americans celebrated the conclusion of a successful January camp before 13,580 fans at Inter&Co Stadium. It was their second victory in four days. The USA defeated Venezuela, 3-1, on Jan. 18 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
The USMNT is now 20W-17L-6D all-time against Costa Rica (20W-6L-4D on home soil), and 5W-1L-0D under head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
As expected in a camp with a focus on player evaluation, Pochettino rotated his lineup considerably. Miles Robinson (playing right back instead of centrally), midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi and winger Brian Gutiérrez were the only holdovers from the group that started against Venezuela.
Steffen earned his first cap since the World Cup qualifying finale in Costa Rica in March 2022, while captain Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman partnered in central defense for the first time since the subsequent round-of-16 loss to the Netherlands in Qatar.
Emeka Eneli and winger Indiana Vassilev each earned their first USMNT starts. Left back DeJuan Jones and White filled out Pochettino’s XI.
Playing for the first time under former Mexico manager Miguel Herrera, Costa Rica fielded four international debutants. Its most seasoned starter was goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado (25 caps), who faced the USA in 2019 and 2020 friendlies and then relieved Keylor Navas toward the end of that March 2022 qualifier.
First Half
Costa Rica was more assertive just after kickoff and earned three corner kicks in the opening five minutes, but Steffen and the USA held firm and gradually grew into the game. Gutiérrez had the first good U.S. chance, hitting the side netting from close range following a spell of possession in the 13th.
The ascendant Americans appeared to suffer a setback when Luna, the playmaker, was forced to the sideline after taking an inadvertent elbow from Costa Rica’s Creichel Pérez. But Luna re-entered the match after several minutes of treatment, wearing a new white jersey and cotton up both nostrils. Seconds later, the Real Salt Lake sparkplug set up White’s opener.
Luna received a pass at midfield from Jones, advanced about 20 yards and then hit a through ball that split three Tico defenders. White took one touch into the penalty area and sent a low, left-footed shot back toward the inside-right netting. The 21st-minute tally was White’s first USMNT goal, and at age 28 he became the oldest player to open his international account since Matt Besler (29 years, 204 days) in September 2016.
White nearly had a second in the 27th, but Alvarado cleared a low bid from the Vancouver Whitecaps’ marksman off the goal line. Steffen then made his mark in the 37th, leaping high and to his left to tip a well-hit, dipping shot from Costa Rica’s Alejandro Bran over the crossbar. The lively, wide-open half ended with an excellent recovery from Robinson, who closed down a threatening Josimar Méndez in stoppage time.
Second Half
Pochettino sent on midfielder Jack McGlynn, playmaker Matko Miljevic and Clark after halftime. McGlynn and Miljevic had a goal and an assist each against Venezuela, and they were back orchestrating the U.S. attack early in the second period. Miljevic set up White for a promising chance in the 53rd, but he pulled his shot left of the target.
Steffen then authored another spectacular save in the 56th, diving to his left and parrying a goal-bound shot from substitute Allan Cruz, a former FC Cincinnati midfielder.
Frequent substitutions and frequent whistles impacted the flow of the second half (the friendly featured five yellow cards) and in the 77th, Eneli’s alert and aggressive play paid dividends. Operating in the left channel, the Real Salt Lake midfielder quickly recovered the ball from Costa Rica’s Bran and found Clark at the top of the penalty area. The CF Montréal attacker rifled home a first-time shot for his first USMNT goal.
Jones and Agyemang then teamed up for an exclamation point in the 90th. Jones curled a long, beautiful ball with the outside of his foot into Agyemang’s path, and the Charlotte FC striker pounded a shot past substitute Costa Rican goalkeeper Anthony Walker from an acute angle. Agyemang, who replaced White 15 minutes earlier, had also scored against Venezuela.
Steffen made three saves to claim his 12th career shutout and Michelob Ultra Man of the Match honors.
Pochettino made the most of his first January camp, giving eight players their USMNT debuts and re-integrating several others while winning both games. He got a look at 19 different starters across the two matches, and five players scored their first international goals.
Line Ups
USA
22-Zack Steffen; 12-Miles Robinson (18-Shaq Moore, 59), 3-Walker Zimmerman, 13-Tim Ream (Capt.), 5-DeJuan Jones; 14-Emeka Eneli, 6-Benjamin Cremaschi (23-Caden Clark, 46); 19-Indiana Vassilev (15-Max Arfsten, 69), 10-Diego Luna (11-Matko Miljevic, 46), 17-Brian Gutiérrez (16-Jack McGlynn, 46); 8-Brian White (7-Patrick Agyemang, 75)
Substitutes not used: 1-Patrick Schulte, 21-Matt Freese, 20-George Campbell
Head coach: Mauricio Pochettino
Costa Rica
1-Esteban Alvarado (18-Anthony Walker, 46); 22-Haxzel Quirós, 4-Santiago van der Putten (3-Kevin Espinoza, 46), 5-Fernán Faerron (Capt.), 6-Ryan Bolaños, 8-Joseph Mora; 17-Creichel Pérez (11-Diego Campos, 72), 20-Rashir Parkins (13-Allan Cruz, 46), 16-Alejandro Bran; 7-Andy Rojas (9-Anthony Hernández, 69), 14-Josimar Méndez (24-Orlando Sinclair, 46)
Substitutes not used: 2-Yostin Salinas, 10-Aarón Suárez, 12-Mauricio Villalobos, 15-Joseth Peraza, 19-Kenay Myrie, 21-Sebastián Acuña, 25-Randy Vega
Head coach: Miguel Herrera
Next Game
There will be a trophy at stake the next time the USMNT convenes. In two months, the Americans will be seeking a fourth straight Concacaf Nations League crown at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., where they’ll face Panama in a March 20 semifinal. The final and third-place playoff are three days later.