The United States, after just one round of games in the Copa America Centenario, faces potential elimination tonight against Costa Rica. Thanks to the the USMNT's 2-0 loss to Colombia being followed by a dreary 0-0 draw between the Ticos and Paraguay, combined with the order of fixtures in Group A, a loss tonight will eliminate the Americans from a tournament they're hosting. Losing would leave the US with the ability to get just 3 points, while Costa Rica would have 4 going into their final game. With Colombia and Paraguay playing immediately after, someone else in the group would get to at least 4 points as well.
So it goes for teams that lose their opening games in this format. The US is still not in a terrible spot - they're more talented than Costa Rica, and Paraguay is the group's minnow - but they're one bad game from being done. The US was not actually too bad against Colombia, with a goalline clearance and a splendid David Ospina save denying Clint Dempsey on two different looks in the second half. Compare that to the how los Cafeteros scored: Cristian Zapata's volley on a corner kick got through, and the second goal came on a handball call that everyone has seen a referee disregard from time to time. With just a touch of good fortune, the US enters the late stages at either 1-0 or 2-1 down.
Jurgen Klinsmann's roster may still be deeply flawed - the only left back, for example, is considered so poor that the team's best winger is playing left back - but his list of eleven players was by and large reasonable once you accept the issues with the 23 man squad. And while the entire front line is out of position, Klinsmann at least seemed to understand that he had to use Michael Bradley at the base of his midfield triangle, and he also chose the best back four available in this squad. If that seems like praising him for getting some very basic things right, well...it's been a rough six years for getting the basics right when it comes to the USMNT.
The good news is that Costa Rica did not impress at all against Paraguay despite fielding some top talent like Bryan Ruiz, Celso Borges, and Joel Campbell. Still, Costa Rica's preferred formation - a 541 or 343 depending on the instructions Oscar "Macho" Ramirez gives to his wide players - is one that the US has been troubled by in the past, and with Borges and Yeltsin Tejeda likely starting in central midfield in front of three center backs, the US will have to be much sharper entering the attacking third. That's where Colombia consistently managed to end their attacks on Friday, and if the Americans repeatedly run into a wall there tonight they could easily end up suffering another defeat.
That means the US needs a sharper performance from Dempsey - especially if, as expected, Klinsmann will continue to use him in a false 9 role that doesn't really make sense for him - along with whoever plays ahead of Bradley in the midfield triangle. Most likely, that'll be Jermaine Jones and Alejandro Bedoya, who are both perfectly capable of succeeding in those spots. However, they were not up to the required level against Colombia, and one can't help but suspect that Darlington Nagbe would freshen up the group.
Location: Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)
Kick-off time: 8:00pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 1 (English), Univision (Spanish), UniMas (Spanish), Univision Deportes (Spanish)
Available streaming: Fox Sports Go (English), Fox Soccer 2Go (English), Univision Deportes app (Spanish)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.
The gamethread for tonight's game will be posted one hour before kickoff.
As for Colombia vs. Paraguay, here's the pertinent info:
Location: Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
Kick-off time: 10:30pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 1 (English), Univision (Spanish), UniMas (Spanish), Univision Deportes (Spanish)
Available streaming: Fox Sports Go (English), Fox Soccer 2Go (English), Univision Deportes app (Spanish)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.