USMNT advances to Gold Cup semis after hanging on for tense win over Costa Rica in penalties
MINNEAPOLIS — Damion Downs scored in the sixth round of a shootout after three saves by Matt Freese, sending the U.S.to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 4-3 penalty-kicks win over Costa Rica after a 2-2 tie on Sunday night.The U.S.
advanced to a Wednesday matchup in St.Louis against Guatemala, which upset Canada on penalty kicks in the opener of the quarterfinal doubleheader.“They showed today great character,” U.S.
coach Mauricio Pochettino said.Mexico plays Honduras in the other semifinal on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California.The championship is in Houston on July 6.The U.S.
has reached the semifinals in 17 of 18 Gold Cups, including 13 straight since a quarterfinal loss to Colombia on penalty kicks in 2000.Diego Luna and Max Arfsten scored in regulation for the U.S., which faced its highest-ranked opponent of the tournament in Costa Rica (54th) after breezing through the group stage with an 8-1 goal differential.Alonso Martinez scored the tying goal for the Ticos in the 71st minute with a left-footed shot after Carlos Mora split Luca de La Torre and Arsten to take a shot on Freese and seize the rebound to set up Martinez.CONCACAF changed the rules for this edition of the biennial championship for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, eliminating extra time except for the championship game.John Tolkin had the first chance to win the shootout for the U.S.Keylor Navas knocked down his try in the fifth round.
Freese then denied Andy Rojas with a diving hand, climbing to his feet while nodding his head and sticking out his tongue toward his cheering teammates at midfield.That set up the winner by the 20-year-old Downs.Missing the tournament for the U.S.
are regulars Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun and Sergiño Dest, due to a variety of reasons from injuries to rest to Club World Cup commitments.The Ticos played without four key players.Forward Manfr...