Written by Tom Dart at the Guardian.com
After a tepid loss in their opening Copa América Centenario game put them under threat of elimination, the US needed a riposte against Costa Rica on Tuesday. They delivered a renaissance.
The same players who had disappointed against Colombia last Friday delivered in Chicago. Michael Bradley was a potent midfield puppeteer, setting up a forward line that now worked in unison rather than isolation. The attack had sly ideas and a serrated edge.
Overall, there was an assertiveness, a strutting self-belief, that had been entirely absent in the 2-0 loss to Colombia. While much of the improvement must be attributed to facing weaker opponents, this was a resolute and fluent performance for a head coach who had been placed under increased pressure by comments from his boss earlier in the day.
The victory will count for nothing if the US lose to Paraguay in their final Group A encounter in Philadelphia on 11 June, but win and Jürgen Klinsmann’s side are sure to progress. Few would bet against them now.
“We think they deserve a huge, huge compliment for tonight’s performance,” Klinsmann said, adding that he believes this is the most difficult group in the tournament.
“It took a little bit to kind of grind ourselves into the game in the first 15-20 minutes but once the first goal came we kept pushing for the next one and then pushing for the next one.”
Klinsmann kept the same line-up that he insisted produced a creditable performance against Colombia, never mind the scoreline. “We had the luxury finally to send the same XI out. We switched after half an hour, the system, we went from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2; fluid, no problem,” he said. “You can see they start to smell each other and make runs off each other.”
Chicago is almost the definition of home advantage: the US Soccer Federation’s headquarters are a 10-minute walk from the stadium where Klinsmann’s team won the 2013 Gold Cup.
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