There are no two ways around it: Saturday's Group A match between Paraguay and Costa Rica was a poor, underwhelming affair, played in the 90 degree June heat of Orlando. It involved water breaks, occasional missed chances, and lots and lots of tackling. That's about it.
And in that heat, one could understand why coach Oscar Ramirez (who D.C. United fans may remember from the beginning of 2015, as he coached DC's CONCACAF Champions League opponent Alajuelense) decided to rest DCU striker Alvaro Saborio and his 34-year old legs, favoring 26-year old Marco Ureña who plays with FC Midtjylland in Denmark's Superliga instead. Ureña ended up playing the full 90 minutes, meaning that we may well see Saborio play against the United States' on Tuesday in a match both teams will feel they need to win to ensure a spot in the knockout round.
With the weather in Chicago looking a little kinder at this point - the forecast is for a temperature around 70 and a chance of drizzle - Saborio may be worth considering against a center back pairing of Geoff Cameron and John Brooks. They'll need whatever offense they can muster, as the Ticos will be missing Vancouver Whitecaps center back Kendall Waston due to a late red card. The US shouldn't get too confident, though: For all of Costa Rica's flaws at the moment, in the 12 matches since last year's Gold Cup, they can lean on a 7-3-2 record. That includes being undefeated in five competitive matches (today's game plus four World Cup qualifiers).
They've also got a decisive advantage when it comes to tweeting out their lineup:
Así alinea #LaSele para su debut en la #CopaAmerica, ante @Albirroja.#VamosTicos @CA2016 pic.twitter.com/cETJUIekhe
— FEDEFUTBOL (@FEDEFUTBOL_CR) June 4, 2016