The USA will look to progress to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup as they face a tricky test against Costa Rica in Arizona on Sunday evening.
Mauricio Pochettino arrived in this tournament under severe pressure, as his side suffered four straight defeats against Panama, Canada, Turkiye and Switzerland.
However, the Ex-Spurs and Chelsea head coach has seen his side coast through to the quarter finals of the Gold Cup, defeating Trinidad & Tobago 5-0 and then Saudi Arabia 1-0 on an evening where two of my selections landed.
The Stars and Stripes then made it three wins from three in Group D, with goals from Malik Tillman and Patrick Agyemang giving them a 2-1 victory and also gave our man Vladimir another couple of winners.
Costa Rica sealed their place in the quarter finals of the Gold Cup with a game to spare following a pair of entertaining 4-3 and 2-1 victories over Suriname and the Dominican Republic.
Los Ticos then played out a goalless draw with CONCACAF Gold Cup holders Mexico, meaning they finished second in Group A due to their inferior goal difference with El Tri.
How the bookies view it: USA favourites
As expected, the USA come into this clash as favourites, with BoyleSports pricing them at 1/2 to get the job done inside 90 minutes.
Costa Rica are 5/1 to cause a surprise and win in regulation time, whilst it’s 14/5 for the game to go to extra time and potentially penalties.
Head to head: Stars and Stripes tend to star in this fixture
Mauricio Pochetinno’s men have won five of their last six meetings with Costa Rica, including a 3-0 friendly success at the beginning of the year.
Players to watch: More magic from Malik?
Ex-Rangers loanee Malik Tillman has been one of the performers of the tournament so far. The PSV man scored the opening two goals in their group opener against Trinidad & Tobago and the opener against Haiti last time out, and is an appealing 23/10 at Unibet to find the target once again.
Spartak Moscow forward Manfred Ugalde fired in 18 goals in the Russian Premier League. He has also scored three times in this competition – all penalties – and is 3/1 to score anytime inside 90 minutes at Bet365.
Predicted line-ups:
The Yanks appear to have no injury or suspension concerns, so Mauricio Pochettino may name a similar starting 11 to the one that defeated Haiti last time out, but Jack McGlynn should come in from the start.
Costa Rica will be without the injured duo of Ariel Lassiter and Warren Madrigal.
USA: Freese, Freeman, Richards, Ream, Tolkin, Adams, de la Torre, McGlynn, Aaronson, Tillman, Agyemang
Costa Rica: Navas, Mora, Mitchell, Vargas, Calvo, Mora, Aguilera, Galo, Alcocer, Martinez, Ugalde
Anything else catch the eye?
Despite entering this competition under a bit of pressure, the USA have looked good in the group stages, and I expect them to get the job done over the Costa Ricans.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have fired in eight goals across their three group-stage victories, so combining a USA win & Over 1.5 Goals pays 5/6 at BoyleSports, and that’s a selection that appeals to me.
4/6 (67%) of the USA’s and Costa Rica’s combined matches in the Gold Cup have gone Over 2.5 Goals, and a repeat of that pays 3/4 at BoyleSports.
GambleAware