USA 2-1 Costa Rica: 2022 World Cup qualifier – as it happened (2024)

That’s all for tonight. Thanks as always for following along and be sure to check out the match report here.

There’s the final whistle and the United States are back on track in World Cup qualifying after a come-from-behind win over Costa Rica at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio. The youngest team the United States have ever started in a qualifier recovered from a first-minute goal by the visitors to get the full three points.

“I was just so happy,” Dest says of his first-half golazo. “We needed that goal and we needed to win the game. The points are important. We all want to go to the World Cup.”

90 min: The US win a corner. It’s played short into the corner and more time is burned. The fourth official signals for four minutes of stoppage time.

85 min: Gyasi Zardes and Walker Zimmerman have come in for Pepi and Aaronson. Three more changes for Costa Rica: Kendall Waston, Christian Bolaños and Álvaro Saborío are entering for Óscar Duarte, Keysher Fuller and Johan Venegas. Elsewhere in octagonal drama: Jamaica have gone up 1-0 at Honduras.

80 min: A couple of near-chances for the US amid chaos in front of the Costa Rica goal but they’re not able to put one in. Solid defending by the visitors.

78 min: And a third switch for Gregg Berhalter’s side as Yunus Musah exits following a wonderful effort tonight, making way for Gianluca Busio.

72 min: Two substitutions for the United States as DeAndre Yedlin enters the game for Sergiño Dest while Matthew Hoppe replaces Tim Weah.

70 min: The US have been pouring it on over the past few minutes with a couple of chances. Costa Rica very much on the back foot with 20 minutes to go.

Weah, who’s been excellent tonight, runs on to a through ball from Dest, who fires toward the near post and into the goal. It may go down as an own goal for Moreira, as it appears to have bounced off the post and off the keeper into the goal. Either way, the US are ahead.

60 min: Meanwhile in Canada, Concacaf gonna Concacaf.

56 min: A major break for the US after an egregious giveaway by Miles Robinson at the halfway line gives Costa Rica an opportunity with nobody and nothing between 36-year-old Bryan Ruiz and the keeper ... but Ruiz can’t capitalize as Robinson tracks back in full sprint and forces him to cut back.

54 min: Aaronson fires a shot on goal but it’s deflected and handled by Moreira. Moments later Aaronson wins a free kick by the halfway line.

51 min: Dest goes down in a heap, grasping his left ankle. A Costa Rica player sportingly kicks it out as he’s tended to by medical staff.

49 min: Antonee Robinson swings a cross into the area from the left corner but no US players are able to connect with it.

46 min: And we’re under way in the second half. A major substitution to report for Costa Rica as the star goalkeeper Keylor Navas is unable to continue due to an adductor injury. He will be replaced by second-choice keeper Leonel Moreira.

The United States were down after only 60 seconds but Sergiño Dest has ended the team’s 428-minute drought without a first-half goal (and with an untied left boot!) to ensure the Americans are heading into intermission deadlocked at one goal apiece.

42 min: Pepi heads in a cross toward the target but it’s easily handled by Navas.

40 min: Blanco’s shot from close range is parried away by Steffen and out for a corner. Elsewhere, USA’s northern neighbors are also down early to Central American visitors as Panama has scored only five minutes in through Rolando Blackburn for a 1-0 win over Canada.

37 min: A dangerous chance for Costa Rica as Moya closes in on goal but Richards slides in from behind to break up the dangerous chance. Moya down in the heap but nothing from the referee. It probably should have been a penalty and the replay only confirms it. Fortunately, for the Americans at least, there’s no VAR implemented for World Cup qualifying in this particular confederation.

35 min: Weah has a go from distance but it’s easily corralled by Navas.

32 min: Not much in the way of chances for either side as the game moves past the half-hour mark. The US win a free kick from distance. Richards heads it down but no American player can run onto it and it’s cleared harmlessly.

Dest, the 22-year-old from Barcelona, cuts inside at the edge of the area and fires a left-footed missile into the upper-left corner to equalize for the United States. It marks the first time in nine matches the Americans have scored a goal before half-time.

23 min: A good ball in from Antonee Robinson but neither Pepi nor Weah can get their head on it. More frustration for the United States at the quarter pole.

20 min: A bit of a slow patch as the teams are mostly trading possession in the middle third. Weah, the last-minute start, has stood out in the early going even if the US team don’t have many chances to show for it.

16 min: Aaronson’s offering toward the far post is overcooked and out for a goal kick.

15 min: McKennie runs onto a pass, takes a couple of touches down the left side before firing a shot on goal that’s deflected out for a corner. Nothing comes of it, but the US win a free kick on the edge of the area moments later.

10 min: A shell-shocked US team have yet to generate a serious chance. It’s the first time the Americans have conceded a first-minute goal in World Cup qualifying since 1997.

5 min: The US are recovering after a nightmarish start. Weah centers it for Aaronson after a sustained spell of possession for the Americans but Aaronson can’t direct a shot onto the goal.

And they’re off ... and Keysher Fuller has quickly given the visitors a stunning early lead when he runs onto a right-wing feed and slips it past Steffen into the far corner. Appeals for offside are turned away and Costa Rica are ahead exactly 60 seconds in. Columbus in stunned silence!

A lineup update for the United States: Weah replaces Arriola, who picked up an injury during warmups. Not sure why Arriola was in the XI to start with after starting the past two games in a short period.

Here’s a look at tonight’s teams. With an average age of 22 years, 229 days, tonight’s starting lineup for the Americans is the youngest fielded by the USMNT in World Cup qualifying history, beating out the group that began last month’s 4-1 win over at Honduras.

USA

XI: Steffen, A Robinson, M Robinson, Richards, McKennie, Adams, Musah, Aaronson, Pepi, Arriola

Subs: Turner, Yedlin, Bello, Zimmerman, McKenzie, Roldán, Busio, Acosta, De La Torre, Zardes, Hoppe, Weah

Costa Rica

XI: Navas, Matarrita, Calvo, Duarte, Fuller, Blanco, Venegas, Tejeda, Borges, Ruiz, Moya

Subs: Cruz, Moreira, Vargas, Waston, Calderon, Faerron, Oviedo, Salas, Bolaños, Marin, Leal, Saborio

Hello and welcome to tonight’s World Cup qualifier between the United States and Costa Rica. It’s the sixth matchday of Concacaf’s first-ever octagonal, where eight nations will play 14 matches in seven months – seven home and seven away – to determine three automatic qualifiers for next year’s World Cup in Qatar. But it’s already a critical one for the United States who have managed just eight points on two wins, one defeat and two draws coming off Sunday’s deflating 1-0 loss at Panama.

The Americans are also missing star players Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna due to injury, though they have welcomed back Weston McKennie following his disciplinary flap over a violation of Covid-19 protocols.

Kickoff is a touch under 15 minutes from now. We’ll be back with the team sheets directly.

Bryan will be here shortly. Here’s a look back at USA’s most recent World Cup qualifier on Sunday at Panama.