SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – The United States put itself in a deep hole in World Cup qualifying with one of its worst performances in decades.
Taking advantage of defensive mistakes, Costa Rica routed the U.S. men 4-0 Tuesday night to drop them to 0-2 for the first time in the final round North and Central American and Caribbean region qualifying.
“A very, very bitter moment for us. There’s no doubt about it,” U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. “We didn’t imagine going into the hexagonal with two defeats right at the beginning.”
Johan Venegas scored in the 43rd minute, Cristian Bolanos doubled the lead in the 69th and second-half substitute Joel Campbell beat beleaguered goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the 74th and 77th minutes in the worst margin of defeat for the United States in a qualifier since a 5-1 defeat at Mexico in November 1980.