U.S. Gets Dismantled In Costa Rica

The United States Men's National Soccer Team suffered a humiliating loss to Costa Rica down in San Jose by a score of 3-1. This one was over before it really even began. Costa Rica scored the opening goal of the match roughly 80 seconds into the game when Alvaro Saborio dribbled and cut past two U.S. defenders and sent a lovely ball over U.S. keeper Tim Howard's outstretched arm to send the already raucous crowd into a frenzy. The game was virtually put away about 10 minutes later when Costa Rica doubled their lead thanks to Celso Borges shot in the 13th minute. Costa Rica overwhelmed, outpaced and just plainly outplayed the U.S. Team from the get-go. Landon Donovan scored for the U.S. on a penalty kick in the 90th minute to bust the shutout.

The U.S. came out in a 4-3-3 formation, which was really odd and a lot different from their usual 4-4-2. In all honesty, I think is was a bit of gamesmanship on coach Bradley's part to make Costa Rica scratch their head on this and think about it. My guess is, maybe he was trying to go with a defensive 4-5-1 line-up, but wrote it down as a 4-3-3 to mess with Costa Rica's minds. Either way, it didn't work. The U.S. looked disorganized, unprepared and pretty much "lost" out there. You can claim is was the crowd, the poor conditions of the turf field, the injuries, whatever. Bottom line, I peg this one squarely on Coach Bradley. The team did not appear ready to play and if they actually were trying to play a 4-3-3, why try this in a big game like this one? Save the new formation for the Confederations Cup in a few weeks, when the results really won't matter. On the other hand, he played a bunch of young guys and gave them the opportunity to stake their claim and show their stuff - which for some, backfired. It was frustrating to watch and I really hope this one can be chalked up as their one "bad game" of the round, they forget about it and move on.

The good news is, the team has the opportunity to bounce back at home against Honduras on Saturday night in Chicago. Honduras, having not played, will be well rested and ready for the match. It is beyond crucial how important it is for the U.S. to win and grab all 3 points. Anything less and South Africa 2010 will be in serious jeopardy. Also, with Michael Bradley picking up his 2nd yellow card of the round, he will be out for Saturday's match.

Clearly the team has some soul searching to do on the flight to Chicago and the focus needs to be on winning Saturday night. Now, losing to Costa Rica in San Jose is nothing to be ashamed of. Did I expect a win? No. I really thought we could steal a point, but my gut told me Costa Rica would win (2-1), which isn't that upsetting. It's the way in which the U.S. lost that is disappointing. The lack of focus, energy and disorganization does not instill me with a lot of confidence for Saturday. Like I mentioned, I hope yesterday's match was a blip on the screen and not a precursor to something larger.

The challenge now for Bradley is to come up with an effective line-up. Based on yesterday's result, it's clear the 4-3-3 didn't work and changes need to be made. With the loss of the coach's son in midfield, someone will need to step up and fill the void. Hopefully, the 4-4-2 goes back into play and the team re-focuses and re-energizes itself for Saturday. A loss or a tie and it's time to panic. A win will straigten the ship and keep the U.S. in the top 3, no matter what the other results are next Wednesday (The Costa Rica/U.S. match was moved up a week due to the Confederations Cup). After Saturday, the U.S. will have played half of it's games for the final round (5 of 10), and 10 points (with a U.S. win on Saturday) is on pace for spot in the top three. So all is not lost, but the U.S. must win on Saturday. Costa Rica still has matches at home against Mexico and will have to go to Honduras and the U.S. Also, Honduras still has a match at Mexico to contend with and El Salvador and Trinidad are still forces to be reckoned with, so a lot can happen. Win your home games, steal points on the road. This Saturday, it's up to the U.S. to hold home field advantage. Saturday's match can be seen live on ESPN and Galavision at 8:00 PM Eastern.