After being defeated by the Colombians in the first round of the 2016 Copa America hosts, the US national team had to score points in the match against Costa Rica. The second round for the Americans was the decisive match in the tournament at the moment.
The US national team needed a win against Costa Rica to continue the fight for a place in the playoffs. Costa Ricans, in turn, also needed to replenish their points. Therefore, the game should have turned out stubborn, but in reality this did not happen.
The Americans quickly opened an account. Costa Rican Christian Gamboa already fouled in his own penalty area in the 8th minute, which led to an immediate penalty. US team leader Clint Dempsey, who was prominent in the first leg with Colombia, did not miss a point. The Americans took the lead 1: 0.
Even before the end of the first half, the US footballers were able to upset their rivals twice more, bringing the score to a devastating one by the 42nd minute. First, when the 37th minute was on the scoreboard, Jermaine Jones put the ball into the corner with a one-touch shot from outside the penalty area, and Bobby Wood, three minutes before the end of the first half with Clint Dempsey's pass, scored 3: 0 in favor of the USA team. …
In the second half, Costa Rica's footballers stepped up, but could not score. Brian Ruiz had an excellent opportunity in the 62nd minute, but the striker's blow was not enough for a few centimeters - the ball hit the post.
At the end of the match (82 minutes), the Costa Rican defender made a gross mistake in his own penalty area and Graham Zusi established the final result of the meeting, rolling the ball into an empty net.
The final whistle caught the teams with the score 4: 0 in favor of the USA national team. Thus, after the second round, the championship hosts have three points scored, and the Costa Rican players remain with the only point scored and fall to fourth place in Group A.
