NEW YORK — Every World Cup qualifying game the U.S. men’s soccer team plays comes with a sense of urgency, no matter how big or small the opponent. But with just four games left on the schedule, Friday’s clash with Costa Rica — one of the biggest teams in the region — has especially high stakes.
“All the work we’ve put in this year was for these next four games,” captain Michael Bradley said Tuesday, as the countdown officially began to the biggest game the U.S. men’s team has ever played in the nation’s biggest market. “We all understand that getting to a World Cup is pass or fail.