Under pressure to deliver after a scathing loss to Colombia, Jurgen Klinsmann's USA produced a fine finishing display to pick up their first win of the Copa America Centenario. In need of a win to stay in the hunt for a place in the knockout stages, the Americans fired four goals past Costa Rica to complete an authoritative win.
Coming off a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Colombia in the Copa America Centenario opener, the pressure was firmly on USMNT, and they handled that pressure brilliantly, as goals from Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones, Bobby Wood and Graham Zusi put the US in a solid position to join Colombia in the quarterfinals.
After Joel Campbell gave USA a scare with an early opportunity, USA took control soon after when Cristian Gamboa conceded a penalty for a push on Bobby Wood inside the box. Clint Dempsey stepped up and duly put the ball into the back of the net to give his team a 1-0 lead on nine minutes.
From there, the US came close to increasing the lead on quite a few occasions, with wayward finishing preventing them from doubling the lead. While Costa Rica played well, they lacked a cutting edge in the first half, while there were no such problems for the home side.
Jones made it 2-0 in the 37th minute, firing home after some good work from Dempsey, before Wood tripled the lead just before halftime, with a low strike from just outside the box.
Costa Rica played a lot better in the second half, with the USA defence looking a little vulnerable, as Celso Borges and Bryan Ruiz, the latter hitting the woodwork, came close to giving their team a lifeline.
However, it was not to be and Zusi added the proverbial icing on the cake on 87 minutes to bring back the smiles and take the pressure off Klinsmann, for now.
With Colombia taking complete control of Group A, USA now look favourites to join them in the knockout stages.
