USMNT, sparked by Sergiño Dest's goal, earn key World Cup qualifying win vs. Costa Rica
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – There was already a palpable feeling of anxiety within the crowd Wednesday at jam-packed Lower.com Field before the U.S. men’s national team – which was coming off a dreadful 1-0 World Cup qualifying loss in Panama three days earlier – conceded the opening goal to Costa Rica just 59 seconds into the match.
It was the worst start imaginable for the hosts. And in that moment, nobody in the building could be sure how the youngest lineup to ever start a qualifier for the USMNT would respond.
Among the U.S. players, though, there was no apparent sense of panic. And once they absorbed the shocking start and gathered themselves, they dominated the rest of the way, getting a spectacular equalizer from Sergiño Dest and a Costa Rican own-goal created by Tim Weah to beat the Ticos 2-1 and finish the three-match October window sitting second in the eight-team standings. The top three teams automatically punch their tickets to next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
"Mentally we were always there, even after we [allowed] the goal," said U.S. winger Weah, who only started the match after Paul Arriola injured his groin in warmups. "We weren't nervous at all."
Perhaps it was the naivety of youth, but the Americans really had no other choice but to put their heads down and get to work after the early setback. With the USMNT’s next qualifier at home to blood rival Mexico next month, losing or even tying this game wasn’t really an option. Anything less than a victory would’ve meant weeks of handwringing. The pressure would’ve gone through the roof.
Instead, the U.S. got the three points they needed, upping their October total to six – one more than they amassed with a win and two ties during the three-match September window.
Still, falling behind before some fans were even in their seats definitely wasn’t part of the game plan. "My initial thought was ‘here we go,’" U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said afterward. "We challenged the guys to respond after a poor performance in Panama. And this was going to be another element that we needed to respond to."
After beating Jamaica last week and then resting four key starters in Panama City, Berhalter – who was already without his best two attacking players (Christian Pulisic and Giovanni Reyna) and most experienced defender (John Brooks) this month – fielded a far stronger lineup on Wednesday. Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams reunited with 18-year-old Yunus Musah, the only player to start all three games, in the midfield. The results were immediate.
The U.S. pinned the visitors in their own half for the remaining 44 minutes of the opening stanza, finishing with 64% of possession and sending 12 shots on goal, five of them on target. This, after not managing a single shot on goal in its last game. Adams, McKennie and especially Musah, who was yanked for Adams at halftime last game, were superb.
But with 11 Costa Ricans packed in front of their own net at times, it took Dest’s moment of magic to change the course of the contest.
"It's was a really important goal and, yeah, it was a really nice goal," said the 20-year-old Barcelona fullback, who, along with starting center back Miles Robinson, got the night off in Panama. "I think we needed that moment."
They did. And after they’d erased the early deficit, it seemed like only a matter of time before the winning goal would come. They got it in the second half when Weah, who was just about to be subbed out of the match, took a shot that deflected off Tico keeper Leonel Moreira and trickled over the goal line. Berhalter thought Weah should’ve gotten credit for the strike. "We'll talk to FIFA about that – whoever we need to talk to – and see if we can get that reversed," he said.
Either way, it was a pivotal goal for the U.S., even if the job was far from done at that point. With more than 20 minutes of regular time still to play, the young Americans had to make sure another mistake didn’t undo all their hard work.
"Twenty-two years and 199 days was the average age of our starting lineup. That's basically unheard of in an international football," Berhalter said, noting that most of the world’s top national teams are comprised of players in their late 20s. "So for us to be navigating through this CONCACAF qualifying – which is a bear, a monster – with this group, and the amount of poise they showed on the field today, particularly going down a goal and then the second half being up a goal … they're growing. They’re growing as a team."
That growth is far from complete. They’re learning on the job, and they’re also seeing how quickly things can change from game to game. The good vibes created by back-to-back qualifying wins over Honduras and the Reggae Boyz evaporated instantly with a single loss. Now, the Americans have some momentum again. They’ll need it in November.
"We move on. We start focusing on Mexico," Berhalter said. "The main goal on that To-Do list is qualify for the World Cup, and we're not there yet."
One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
