Less than 24 Hours 'til Costa Rica...

And many questions surround the lineup for tomorrow's match...Frankie Hejduk is doubtful with a groin strain, Maurice Edu has stayed in Scotland to have his (hopefully not serious) knee injury evaluated. So with all these questions...plus the facts that-at the Estadio Saprissa-the US is 0-6-1 in qualifying, Costa Rica has lost only once in 20+ games, and the artificial turf is in miserable shape (oh yeah, and the Saprissa is probably the second most difficult stadium for an opponent to play in, only behind the Azteca in Mexico City)...does Bob Bradley go into this one with the mentality of a-tie-is-a-win? While the US is sure to come out in a more defensive formation, the US is not a country content with sitting back and not pushing forward---especially against a CONCACAF opponent, and especially in such a meaningful game. Look for the US men to break out in counterattacks and not shy away from offensive opportunities.
Defensively, the US will need to be aggressive, which could take a toll for the Honduras game this weekend. Michael Bradley, Gooch Onyewu, Frankie Hejduk, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore are all carrying yellow cards into this match, and a yellow to any of them would cause them to miss Saturday night's game at Soldier Field (Costa Rica comes into this game with 7 players carrying yellow cards, an indication that this is another team that's not afraid to stick in on a tackle). Given the deplorable condition of the playing surface at the Saprissa, and the physical nature of these two teams, this game has every opportunity to get chippy and cost both teams in the card department.
More quick stats:
-both teams are 9-1-1 in this qualifying cycle (the US lost to Trinidad to close the semifinal round, having already clinched a spot in the final round).
-the US holds an 11-10-5 all-time record against Costa Rica...but is 0-6-1 away to the Ticos in qualifying. In the last 10 meetings, the US is 5-3-2---all 5 wins coming in the US, all 3 losses coming at the Saprissa.
-DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, and Heath Pearce have each started 9 games in the 2010 qualifying cycle. Beasley leads the team having played 83% of all possible minutes (822 mins), only one year removed from a serious knee injury that kept him off the field for 6 months.
-Seven players (Bocanegra, Donovan, Howard, Mastroeni, Wynne, Califf, and Feilhaber) played 90 mins for their clubs over the weekend (as well as 81 mins for Brian Ching, and another 48 for Torres). These players could play 3 games in 8/9 days.
-Only 2 players on the US roster have scored against Costa Rica---Donovan (2 in an '05 qualifier) and Bocanegra (in the '03 Gold Cup Third-Place Match). All of those goals came on US soil (Donovan in Salt Lake City, Bocanegra in Miami).

All this said, Bob Bradley has to be happy he boards the flight to Chicago with another point in the standings---not just because of the history and the odds, but because one point gained by the US is two points that Costa Rica won't pick up on home soil. The points dropped could be more important later in qualifying than the point earned.




Quick hits on other news in the sport today:
-England international Gareth Barry has completed a 12-million Pound move from Aston Villa to Manchester City. Last year, a deal looked done for Barry to move to Liverpool, but fell through when Liverpool balked at the 18-million Pound fee that Villa sought. In any other transaction, this could be attributed to the current state of the global economy, though City's owners (who hail from recession-affected yet still financially-secure Dubai) could've easily afforded the original fee.

-Reports are out in Spain that Real Madrid and AC Milan have agreed to fee in the neighborhood of 56-million Pounds for Kaka. Of course, these reports are notoriously unreliable, and Kaka has stated his desire (multiple times) to remain at the San Siro...that said, if Madrid offers that kind of money, Milan may not be able to turn it down. There's a new manager on the bench (after Ancellotti bolted for Chelsea), which surely means a shake-up is on the horizon...and revamping a roster costs a lot of money. How better to finance that revamping than to cash in on one of your most profitable investments...


Tomorrow (Wednesday) night. 10pm ET. ESPN2. Tune in.