The United States look to rebound tonight as they battle regional rivals Costa Rica in a pivotal game in Group A.
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US head coach Jurgen Klinsmann used untested Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic as his first two substitutions against Colombia. Dempsey’s goal was his 50th in global play.
Costa Rica made a few changes to start the second half and looked the stronger team in the second half, but were unable to bite into the deficit, as Zusi grabbed a fourth for the home side in the 88th minute. Graham Zusi added a late goal for the United States, which moved ahead of Costa Rica in the Group A standings.
Now, he knows how much better it is to get the win in Group A. Paraguay must now beat the United States on Saturday to have any chance of advancing to the quarters.
Colombia forward James Rodriguez showed no sign of injury on Tuesday, as he drove Los Cafeteros into the knockout rounds of the Copa America Centenario, but it isn’t all good news for the Real Madrid player.
It was quite a response to days of questions after the USA allowed a goal off a corner kick and committed a costly hand ball in a 2-0 loss to Colombia on Friday night. But when the first goal came we kept pushing for the next one and the next one. “Obviously, the result, especially here in the US, that’s all that matters to a lot of people”. Bobby Wood absorbed a push from behind by Cristian Gamboa, and Dempsey stepped to the spot to bury the kick.
After the United States of America took a tough 2-0 loss to Colombia to open the tournament, Dempsey got the team off to a good start nine minutes into Tuesday’s contest. “Yeah, it’s good to be part of that club of getting to 50 goals”.
“The United States were very effective and hard for us”. Dempsey kept his cool to confidently slot home and become the second American to score a half century of global goals. This time, the tireless Colorado Rapids midfielder swept in a right-footed shot from just outside the box after Dempsey did well to attack the middle off the dribble and then skid a pass to his left.
It was a brisk, autumnal night along Lake Michigan, but the heat on the US team was palpable.
“I think it was, overall, a very, very pleasant performance”, Klinsmann said.
The US had barely finished celebrating when Dempsey found himself at the corner of the box again, but this time he intentionally sent the ball into Wood, who turned magnificently to shoot and score to put the US up 3-0 going into halftime.
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Costa Rican captain Bryan Ruiz came as close as he could in the 68th minute as he headed a ball off the left post, but he was called for being offside.
