The Costa Ricans will effectively forever be able to say that they put the final nail in the coaching career of Jurgen Klinsmann with the U.S. Men's National Team. They scored a 4-0 win back in November in World Cup qualifying in San Jose, the last match Klinsmann had as the boss of the Stars and Stripes. That said, Los Ticos may have opened up Pandora's Box with Bruce Arena coming back for a second stint coaching the Americans. Arena has yet to lose in 14 matches in his old post, and there's little reason to believe that won't keep up in a match that means so much more to the USA than it does to Costa Rica on Friday night.
Don't miss the World Cup Qualifying action from Red Bull Arena at 6:55 p.m. ET on Friday, September 1, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on ESPN.
Opening Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
United States -140
Costa Rica +340
Draw +210
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
The Americans really have to be major favorites in this one. The emotion involved on the pitch is going to be insane after the Yanks were beaten 4-0 in San Jose, and the fact that the USA is far from safe when it comes to World Cup qualifying while Costa Rica is probably already on enough points to get the job done will only heighten the sense of emergency for the hosts.
That said, the -140 margin has to look a little scary for bettors. The Americans feel like they should be -300 or so to win this match, even against the third-best team in CONCACAF.
The total of 2.5 with -140 vig on the under tells us that goals should be few and far between for two teams that are known for playing solid defense.
Roster Analysis
Arena hasn't always been consistent when it's come to picking his sides in matches, but the bigger the stakes, the more likely he's been to call up his top choices.
Christian Pulisic was given the summer off in the Gold Cup, but he's going to be back in the midfield for the Americans in these matches against Costa Rica and Honduras. There is perhaps a big problem at the back for Arena with John Brooks and DeAndre Yedlin both out of the fold with injuries. DaMarcus Beasley has been called up in their spot, and we have no doubt that he's going to play a role in this match in some respect with his 125 career appearances.
There aren't a lot of surprises on the Costa Rican team either. Keylor Navas will be manning the net for the 74th time in his career for Los Ticos, and an attacking duo of Bryan Ruiz and Marco Urena is expected along with the midfield attacking nature of Deportivo La Coruna's Celso Borges.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Remember the match the United States played at home against Honduras in Arena's first really big test in World Cup qualifying? This could be the same sort of fixture.
You can bet that Red Bull Arena is going to be rocking on Friday night, and the quicker the Yanks can produce something special, the better. Arena has been a little guilty of being more conservative than the Americans should be at this point, but he's a nice tactical change after Klinsmann flat out ran out of respect as the team's boss.
If the air stays in the balloon over the course of the first 30 minutes of this one and the Americans can break the ice, we think they'll have no problems from there. It's just so important to stay alert at the back and not get caught early, because a goal allowed to go down 1-0 may end up being a disaster for the USA's World Cup hopes. We think the Yanks will be just fine, but this Costa Rican team remains dangerous.
World Cup Qualifying Odds: USA 3, Costa Rica 1
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