The U.S. men’s national team wraps up its October World Cup qualifying window at home against Costa Rica tonight (7p.m., ESPN2, UniMas, TUDN) knowing a win at home in Columbus, Ohio would ensure a comfortable spot in the top three heading towards November’s qualifiers.
Standing in the way is a Costa Rica side that also knows a win tonight would propel the Ticos into a top-three spot. A draw in Honduras followed by a home win against El Salvador has Costa Rica knocking on the door of the top three, and the Ticos also know they have won three straight World Cup qualifiers against the USMNT.
Gregg Berhalter is trotting out a lineup has no players who took part in the last qualifier between the two Concacaf rivals, with Ricardo Pepi, Yunus Musah and Brenden Aaronson among the youngsters set to feature in tonight’s big match
Here is the USMNT starting XI that will face Costa Rica (Tim Weah replaced Paul Arriola in the lineup after Arriola was injured in pre-game warmups:
Here is a rundown of SBI’s pre-match coverage:
USMNT aiming for bounce-back performance vs. Costa Rica
Clear improvements have Antonee Robinson looking like the USMNT answer at left back
The SBI Show: Episode 333 (USMNT-Costa Rica preview)
Who will, and who should start for the USMNT vs. Costa Rica?
Concacaf World Cup qualifying preview: Canada faces Panama
SBI staff will be providing updates and analysis in the comments section below, so feel free to follow along, and you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions as well.
Enjoy the action.
