The United States Men’s National Team dropped its second straight match in the Hexagonal with a 4-0 road loss to Costa Rica on Tuesday at Estadio Nacional in San Jose.
Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler started and played the full match, earning his 39th career cap, while his club teammate Graham Zusi marked his 42nd international appearance with a 13-minute substitute stint in the second half.
The U.S. entered the match with an 0-8-2 all-time record on Costa Rican soil and showed no signs of snapping that skid on Tuesday, surrendering four unanswered goals four days after it fell 2-1 at home to Mexico in Friday’s Hexagonal opener.
The Montreal Impact’s Johan Venegas opened the scoring just before halftime before Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Christian Bolanos doubled Costa Rica’s advantage on 68 minutes. Substitute Joel Campbell bagged a late brace to complete the rout, giving the U.S. its heaviest shutout loss in World Cup qualifying since 1957.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s team sits at the bottom of the Hexagonal standings through two World Cup qualifiers, while Costa Rica vaults to the summit. Upon completion of CONCACAF’s final qualifying round next October, the top three finishers will punch their tickets to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The fourth-place finisher will face an Asian team in a two-legged World Cup playoff in November 2017.
CONCACAF Hexagonal Standings
<strong>TEAM</strong> |
<strong>PTS</strong> |
<strong>W</strong> |
<strong>L</strong> |
<strong>D</strong> |
<strong>GD</strong> |
<strong>GF</strong> |
<strong>GA</strong> |
1. Costa Rica |
6 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
+6 |
6 |
0 |
2. Mexico |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
+1 |
2 |
1 |
3. Panama |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
+1 |
1 |
0 |
4. Honduras |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
+1 |
3 |
2 |
5. Trinidad & Tobago |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
-4 |
1 |
5 |
6. United States |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
-5 |
1 |
6 |
U.S. MNT Hexagonal Schedule & Results
<strong>DATE</strong> |
<strong>OPPONENT</strong> |
<strong>RESULT</strong> |
<strong>Nov. 11, 2016</strong> |
<strong>vs. Mexico</strong> |
<strong>L 1-2</strong> |
Nov. 15, 2016 |
at Costa Rica |
L 0-4 |
<strong>March 24, 2017</strong> |
<strong>vs. Honduras</strong> |
|
March 28, 2017 |
at Panama |
|
<strong>June 7 or 8, 2017</strong> |
<strong>vs. Trinidad and Tobago</strong> |
|
June 11 or 12, 2017 |
at Mexico |
|
<strong>Sept. 1, 2017</strong> |
<strong>vs. Costa Rica</strong> |
|
Sept. 5, 2017 |
at Honduras |
|
<strong>Oct. 6, 2017</strong> |
<strong>vs. Panama</strong> |
|
Oct. 10, 2017 |
at Trinidad and Tobago |
