The USA got off to a bad start at the Copa America centennial tournament on June 3rd when they dropped a 2-0 decision to third-ranked Colombia in their opening Group A contest. The home nation still has a chance to advance to the next round though as fellow group teams Costa Rica and Paraguay played to a 0-0 draw the following day at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The 31st-ranked USA will now take on 23rd-ranked Costa Rica in their second match of the group stage at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday, June 7th.
USA vs Costa Rica – Pinnacle Sports Copa America Soccer Betting Line:
- Pinnacle Sports currently lists the USA as the favorites at -114 with Costa Rica +394 and a draw at +252
USA vs Costa Rica – Head to Head:
- The USA and Costa Rica have met 32 times in the past with the Costa Ricans winning 14, losing 13 and drawing the other five. Their last meeting took place on October 13 of last year with Costa Rica winning 1-0 on the road. Costa Rica has won two in a row, three out of the past five and five out of the last eight meetings. The Americans have won two of the past nine with two draws and five defeats.
Cristian Zapata opened the scoring for Colombia against the USA on Friday night in the eighth minute with his first international goal in his 42nd appearance. James Rodriguez then added some insurance with a successful penalty kick in the 42nd minute to take all three points. USA manager Jurgen Klinsmann is once again under fire for his team’s poor showing and the majority of the sold out 67,439 crowd wasn’t too happy. The game was still up in the air at 1-0, but when DeAndre Yedlin handled the ball in the 18-yard box for the penalty kick it looked like the home team’s fate was sealed.
The best chances for the Americans fell to forward Clint Dempsey, but he didn’t have any luck around the net. Goalkeeper Brad Guzan wasn’t to blame, but some fans are questioning why Klinsmann started him ahead of veteran Tim Howard, who started the last two World Cups for the USA. Colombia received a bit of a scare in the 73rd minute when Rodriguez left the pitch after injuring his left shoulder. His goal earlier in the game was his 15th for his homeland in his 43rd game. Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina wasn’t overly busy and he made a fine save on a Dempsey free kick in the 60th minute.
Meanwhile, down in Orlando, Costa Rica had to settle for a 0-0 draw with 44th-ranked Paraguay with a crowd of 14,334 on hand. It was a ragged game which turned chippy near the end when centre-back Kendall Waston of Costa Rica was sent packing after receiving a red card during injury time. He’ll now have to sit out the encounter with the USA on Tuesday. Neither side created much in the way of scoring chances with Costa Rica’s Christian Bolanos coming closer near the end of the game, but Paraguay netminder Justo Villa was in position to make a fine save. Paraguay will be taking on Colombia in Pasadena, California on Tuesday with the group still up for grabs.