It is now time for the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers, where we have a massive clash in the Red Bull Arena on Friday, September 1st, where USA will play host to Costa Rica. USA were excellent last June when they captured the Gold Cup, and they have also got their qualifiers back on track after a rough start. Costa Rica have actually been better than USA so far, having already destroyed them by 0-4 at home in the first round.
Costa Rica (3-1-2) made an amazing start in the qualifiers, as they recorded back-to-back dominant clean sheets wins against Trinidad & Tobago and USA (2-0 and 0-4 respectively). After that they suffered a tough 0-2 loss on the road against Mexico, before a couple of draws against Honduras and Panama. In their most recent they defeated Trinidad & Tobago by 1-2 at home. Moreover, they made a deep run in the Gold Cup on June, wher they were eventually eliminated by USA in the semi-final by 0-2. Even so, Costa Rica have been excellent in the qualifiers so far, as they are sitting at the 2nd spot of the Hexagon with 11 points after 6 matches, 3 points behind Mexico and as many ahead of USA. Even a single point from this match could go a long way towards securing the qualification.
USA (2-2-2) started these qualifiers in the worst possible way, as they lost at home by 2-1 against Mexico in the premiere, and followed up with a very frustrating 0-4 loss on the road against Costa Rica. That meant the end for Klinnsmann, who was replaced by Bruce Arena at that point, and results have been fantastic since then, as USA have yet to lose a match (9-0-5). They bounced back with a dominant 0-6 triumph at home over Honduras, before a 1-1 draw on the road against Panama. They were excellent in the 0-2 home win against Trinidad & Tobago, but were held to a 1-1 draw on the road against Mexico in their most recent. Moreover, USA won the Gold Cup last June, when they defeated Jamaica by 1-2 in the final (5-0-1). They are now sitting at the 3rd spot of the Group with 8 points, 3 points behing Costa Rica.