By FRANCO PANIZO
The U.S. men's national team began its game against Costa Rica by dominating possession and pushing the tempo, but its inability to translate that into scoring opportunities proved costly.
The United States suffered its first loss under head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, falling 1-0 to Los Ticos in front of 15,798 spectators at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on Friday night.
Rodney Wallace, who made his Costa Rica debut in the second half of the match, scored the winner five minutes after entering the game.
Playing in a 4-3-3 formation, the Americans started the match by playing attractive soccer with good movement and quick combination passes. But Costa Rica withstood the early pressure, and that helped the visitors settle into a rhythm of their own just before halftime.
That carried over into the second half of a feisty game, as Costa Rica was again able to hold firm in the back despite losing the possession battle for long stretches.
Los Ticos then took advantage of some poor defending by center backs Carlos Bocanegra and Michael Orozco in the 65th minute when a long ball played over the top allowed for Alvaro Saborio to get behind the American back line. Saborio raced onto the ball and hit a low cross to midfielder Michael Barrantes, whose ensuing shot was saved by Tim Howard. Wallace pounced on the rebound and his diving header was too strong for Howard to block.
The United States did not create many chances before or after Wallace's goal, but it was not able to capitalize on the ones it did have.
Landon Donovan came closest to scoring for the U.S. team in the opening minutes of the match, when he wasted a clean look on goal by shooting the ball wide after Brek Shea passed it to him.
Jose Torres and substitute Juan Agudelo also tested Costa Rica with shots in the second half, but goalkeeper Keylor Navas saved both efforts.
The Americans are now winless against Costa Rica in their last five meetings.
The United States next plays Belgium on Sept. 6.
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What did you think of the United States' 1-0 loss to Costa Rica? Who impressed/disappointed you? Think we'll see more of the same against Belgium?
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