United States Ends January Camp With Win Over Costa Rica
The USMNT keep their 2025 undefeated streak alive following a meeting with Costa Rica.
After securing a 3-1 win over Venezuela on Saturday, Mauricio Pochettino and the United States Men’s National Team wrapped up the January camp Wednesday night when they hosted Costa Rica inside Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Wednesday saw Poch make nine changes from the win over Venezuela. Colorado Rapids Zach Steffen got the start in goal behind the back line of former Revs and Columbus’ DeJuan Jones, Charlotte FC’s Tim Ream, Nashville SC’s Walker Zimmerman, and FC Cincinnati’s Miles Robinson. Inter Miami’s Benjamin Creamaschi and Real Salt Lake’s Emek Eneli started deep in the midfield, with Chicago Fire forward Brian Gutierrez, Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna, and St. Louis CITY SC’s Indiana Vassilev higher up. Vancouver Whitecap Brian White was the lone attacker up top.
After getting cracked in the nose minutes earlier, Diego Luna exacted his revenge in the 21st minute when he helped the U.S. get on the board. After receiving the ball at the midway line, Luna drove upfield before threading a heated pass through the middle to a darting White. The striker evaded the defender just long enough to beam a shot to the lower-right corner, which evaded Esteban Alvarado's reach to notch his first international goal and put the US up 1-0.
Zack Steffen came up huge to keep the clean sheet alive in the 38th minute. Alejandro Bran attempted to catch Steffen by rocketing a ball that quickly dipped down and headed toward goal. The goalkeeper leaped back and got his fingertips to the ball to direct it out.
Santiago van der Putten saw the game's first booking in the 39th minute after he received a yellow card for committing a foul on Luna. Robinson then saw yellow in the 40th minute after colliding with Esteban Alvarado while attempting to restart the game.
On the opposite side of a pitch, a familiar name to Revolution II fans came on as Orlando Sinclair subbed in to start the second half.
White squandered a golden opportunity to double the U.S. lead in the 54th minute. After driving down the left flank, Jones cut the ball centrally to Miljevic, who found White on the right. After luring his defender in, the striker cut the ball to his left and attempted to slot it to the far post, but his strike lacked accuracy as it sailed wide.
Steffen once again saved the United States in the 56th minute. After Bran’s shot pinballed through the U.S. back line, it fell to an open Allan Cruz inside the box. Cruz attempted to curl the ball into the upper right side of the net, but Steffen extended wide and got to the ball to keep the clean sheet intact.
Pochettino went to the bench in the 59th minute as Shaq Moore replaced Robinson. Another substitution came in the 70th minute when Max Arfsten replaced Vassilev. Pochettino went to the bench again in the 75th minute when Patrick Agyemang replaced White.
White wasn’t the only player to notch their first goal for the U.S. on the night. After winning the ball on the left flank, Emek Eneli sent a bouncing ball centrally that Caden Clark got on top of and buried it into the upper-left corner to put the US a 2-0 lead.
After finding the net against Venezuela, Agyemang found the back of the net for the second game in a row after finding the back of the net in the 91st minute. It started when Jones lasered a ball forward into the path of Agyemang. Despite the awkward angle, Agyemang rocketed the ball past Alvarado to give the U.S. a 3-0 lead.
With the January camp in the rearview mirror, attention now shifts to the Concacaf Nations League. The United States returns to action on March 20 when they host Panama inside SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles at 7:00 PM ET.