OneFootball
Dylan Krain·29 June 2025
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Dylan Krain·29 June 2025
Early in their Gold Cup quarter-final, the United States finds themselves 1-0 down to Costa Rica, putting their semi-final qualification in jeopardy.
Costa Rica was gifted a golden chance to open the scoring after being awarded a penalty inside ten minutes, which was converted by veteran defender Francisco Calvo.
Later in the half, the United States missed a penalty and forced a stunning save from Keylor Navas seconds later. After all of the action, both sides got chippy with each other before play resumed.
This comes shortly after fellow regional powerhouse Canada was eliminated on penalties by Guatemala, who are 106th in the FIFA world rankings.
Following difficult losses to Panama, Turkey, and Switzerland earlier in the year, Mauricio Pochettino will certainly be fearing another upset in a tournament the US is expected to, at least, reach the final.
Thankfully for Pochettino, budding midfield ace Diego Luna's deflected effort in the 43rd minute would pull the US level, and it was arguably no less than they deserved.
📸 Stephen Maturen - 2025 Getty Images