Yesterday, we told about the U.S. men's friendly against Belgium in September. Well today they added another match, this one coming Sept. 2 (four days before playing in Belgium): vs. Costa Rica at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
Both are FIFA international fixture dates, meaning head coach Bob Bradley -- if he's still in charge -- can call in any healthy player from any club on the planet.
What's likely is that he'll use a domestic roster, primarily Major League Soccer players, for the match against the Ticos, then field a team of European-based players against Belgium. The games will be the Yanks' first since falling to Mexico in the June 25 CONCACAF Gold Cup final at the Rose Bowl and will serve as preps for the start of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Belgium is something of an unknown since they're not a team that normally faces the U.S and they're not one of Europe's best so we don't get to see them much. On the other hand, the U.S. is well aware of Costa Rica since they're a CONCACAF rival and always a quality opponent.
The U.S. is 11-11-6 all-time against Costa Rica, which is currently playing as a guest team in Copa America, South America's nations championship, after reaching the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals. The Ticos have a four-game unbeaten streak going against the U.S., although the most recent meeting -- a 2-2 draw in October 2009 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier in D.C., forged on Jonathan Bornstein's stoppage-time goal -- sent Honduras past Costa Rica for the region's final berth in South Africa.
This will be the first friendly between the sides since 1998.
The atmosphere for U.S. vs. Costa Rica should be a good one even if as expected, it's mostly MLS players and not the big boys.
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