Clint Dempsey was well aware what was on the line when he stepped up to the ball to take a penalty kick in the ninth minute of Tuesday’s Copa America Centenario game against Costa Rica.
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It was a brisk, autumnal night along Lake Michigan, but the heat on the US team was palpable. He backed up this belief by starting the exact same lineup against Costa Rica as he did against Columbia. The personal milestone was reached, and the team was on the way to a crucial 4-0 victory. When you combine that explosiveness offensively with a defense that’s allowed just one goal in two matches, Colombia is clearly working with a scary club. “We conceded in very important moments”. We’re still alive in this tournament.
“I think we all do understand what’s at stake”, USA manager Jurgen Klinsmann said at his press conference on Monday. “It took a while to settle into the game, but after the first goal we kept pushing to find the next one”. A Victor Ayala screamer in the 70th minute put Paraguay within touching distance of a draw, but Oscar Romero’s red card more or less ended their chances.
Dempsey got the first, his 50th global goal, from the penalty spot after Cristian Gamboa was adjudged to have pushed Wood in the box with six minutes gone. He also scored his first at the home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears on May 28, 2005, against England.
The hosts are the 4/5 favourites to win this week with bet365, while an away win for Costa Rica is shrouded in doubt at 4/1. In the 37th minute, though, Jones made sure not to squander another Dempsey creation.
Following a limp show on the opening day, the USMNT improved tenfold in their next outing as they clinically dispatched Costa Rica with four unanswered goals. And it came from an assist from Clint Dempsey, who again demonstrated he can be more effective with a striker in front of him. I just think getting the ball in the pockets there, getting in a position where you can run off the back line and cause problems [was the reason for the production].
Whether or not Klinsmann decides to continue to try a 4-3-3, or with the 4-4-2 formation that gave the USMNT life Tuesday night remains to be seen, but if the Yanks want to prove that they can hang with the big boys, clinching a spot in the quarterfinals is a must.
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The USAGuzan, Yedlin, Brooks, Cameron, Johnson, Bedoya, Jones, Bradley, Dempsey, Zardes, Wood. “It’s a good group of guys that we have together”, Klinsmann said. Every time he actually got the ball, he attempted to dribble his way into space, but unlike Willian, Cuadrado was unable to create any chances by doing so.
