USA Gears Up For Gold Cup Semifinal Matchup With Costa Rica Tonight, Game Starts At 10 p.m. ET
By US Soccer // July 22, 2017
Game Airs On FS1 and UNIVISIÓN
ABOVE VIDEO: Highlights from USA’s 2-0 win over El Salvador on Wednesday. (Fox Soccer Video)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (USMNT) – Fresh off a 2-0 shutout win against El Salvador in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal, the U.S. Men’s National Team continues its quest for a sixth confederation championship when it takes on Costa Rica in the Semifinals of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday, July 22.
Coverage from AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas begins at 10 p.m. ET on FS1, UniMas and Univision Deportes Network.
The U.S. MNT weathered the challenging and physical early minutes of Wednesday’s encounter vs. El Salvador and utilized late first-half goals from defenders Omar Gonzalez and Eric Lichaj to earn a 2-0 victory against Los Cuscatlecos in front of 31,615 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Gonzalez headed home his second goal in as many matches to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead, flicking on Michael Bradley’s free kick from the left in the 41st minute. Just six minutes later, Lichaj made a smart run to get on the end of a pass from Clint Dempsey before burying his first international goal through the legs of El Salvador goalkeeper Derby Carrillo.
The win pushed the U.S. to its 13th Semifinal appearance in 14 Gold Cup tournaments, setting up Saturday’s showdown with Costa Rica.
Omar Gonzalez and Eric Lichaj’s goals against El Salvador put them in rare company. The pair of strikes marked just the third time in the Modern Era (1990-present) that two U.S. defenders scored in the same game. It’s also the second instance in the last two years and first time in official competition.
A semifinal matchup worthy of a final. It’s matchday in Texas!
#️⃣ #USAvCRC
⏰ 10:00 p.m. ET
? FS1, Univision, UDN
? https://t.co/jX0E4RwuUR pic.twitter.com/SauJMLYM5t— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) July 22, 2017
Veteran reinforcements Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley made their first appearances of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and with them moved up the U.S. MNT all-time lists in two different categories.
Appearance wise, Dempsey earned his 135th cap to move past Jeff Agoos into third on the U.S. MNT’s all-time list. Bradley also earned his 134th cap to tie Agoos for fourth.
The U.S. captain then tallied his 22nd career assist on Gonzalez’s 41st minute header, which moved him into a tie for second with Cobi Jones on the U.S. MNT’s assist list. Dempsey provided the helper on Lichaj’s strike, which pushed him into a deadlock for fourth on the all-time assist list with Claudio Reyna at 19.
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