ESPN Jen Chang Blog

Pregame banter

Our intrepid reporter Ives Galarcep is on the loose in San Jose, Costa Rica, this week, and he told me that on first impression, the soccer mecca that is Saprissa Stadium actually looks like a post-nuclear ruin akin to something like the Thunderdome from the third "Mad Max" movie. When you factor in the 10-foot-high fencing surrounding the field -- which gives it the atmosphere of a cage fight -- and survey the artificial turf that looks about 50 years past its sell-by date, it's easy to understand why the Ticos have such a formidable junkyard, er ... home record in World Cup qualifying.

Saprissa Stadium, of course, is the "Cauldron of Doom" the U.S. is stepping into tonight (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2, ESPN360). Bob Bradley's men will be trying to do what no U.S. team has done in World Cup qualifying history. No, I'm not talking about playing stylish attacking soccer with flair, technique and throwing caution to the wind; I'm talking about pulling out a first-ever win in Costa Rica.

Also, in the biggest breaking news for the U.S. since Adam Lambert revealed what his favorite eyeliner was, Maurice Edu and Frankie Hejduk have both been ruled out for the U.S.; Edu with knee knack and Hejduk with a groin injury. I'll be back with live play-by-play of the game at 10 p.m. ET.

The play-by-play comes with the usual disclaimer that blog updates are entirely contingent on our server speed, and any sparseness is in no way caused by any wandering of attention, slow typing speed or sipping of a mojito on my part (although that certainly could be a factor). For good measure, I'll add that those ultrasensitive souls who are easily offended by even the teeniest, tiniest bit of tongue-in-cheek criticism leveled at their favorite players had best avert their eyes. See you all at kickoff.

More preamble

So, first random quote of the day. "Quentin came to visit sometime at the end of the summer, we talked about backstory, we talked about movies. I get up the next morning and see five empty bottles of wine right on the floor. Five. And something that resembles a smoking apparatus -- I don't know what that was about -- and apparently I had agreed."

No, that's not coach Bradley talking about how he determines the starting lineups for the U.S. team, it's Brad Pitt on how he ended up in Quentin Tarantino's newest film.

Speaking of lineups, the U.S. lineup for the game is expected to be:

Tim Howard, Marvell Wynne, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, DaMarcus Beasley, Pablo Mastroeni, Michael Bradley, Jose Francisco Torres, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore.

Subs: Brad Guzan, Ricardo Clark, Freddy Adu, Jonathan Bornstein, Jay DeMerit, Charlie Davies, Sacha Kljestan.

I have to admit, I really like the look of that lineup. The word is that Brian Ching is sitting out this one with an injury and also to rest him for the Honduras game.

The U.S. will apparently be playing a fluid 4-3-3, which has the versatility of turning into a 4-5-1 if needed to weather the pressure. If I had a minor quibble, I'd put Donovan on the left and Altidore up top, but other than that, Bradley has to be commended for his attacking mindset for this game.

In other U.S. news, Tim Howard is close to agreeing to/signing a new five-year extension with Everton -- a smart move for the Goodison outfit.

Costa Rica's lineup is:

Keylor Navas, Junior Diaz, Freddy Fernandez, Michael Umana, Harold Wallace, Celso Borges, Esteban Sirias, Bryan Ruiz, Walter Centeno, Andy Herron, Alvaro Saborio.

Winger Cristian Bolanos is surprisingly left on the bench by coach Rodrigo Kenton. Liverpool fans might remember Bolanos from his brief trial at Anfield a few years ago.

We're a few minutes from the kickoff.

The two teams have taken the field and await the national anthems.

Play-by-play

1 min: We're off and Costa Rica attack briskly down the right -- a move that ends with Herron's cross being cleared by the U.S. back line.

GOAL! Costa Rica 1-0 U.S. -- What a start by the Ticos, Saborio picks up an innocuous-looking loose ball outside the area, dribbles past Torres and Mastroeni and hits an absolute peach of a left-footed curler from outside of the box which beats Howard. An unstoppable shot, but you wouldn't be far off if you think that Mastroeni and Torres made rather feeble attempts to tackle Saborio.

3 mins: Needless to say, the U.S. team seems a bit stunned and has yet to really settle down.

5 mins: The U.S. is starting to play it around a little bit. Mastroeni plays a nice diagonal ball in to Torres, who falls over in open space and makes a total hash of it. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and blame that on the turf.

8 mins: Not a lot going on at the moment, scrappy stuff and various fouls. Neither side has managed to string together more than three or four passes at a time.

11 mins: Saborio and Ruiz seem to have free roles up top and are interchanging with each other at will. Ruiz sends a cross into the box from the left which is headed up by the U.S. before Herron tries a rather hopeless left foot volley which goes straight up in the air. I bet he'd like that shot back -- maybe not in an Eminem "I want Mariah back" fashion, but back, nonetheless.

13 mins: GOAL! Costa Rica 2-0. The U.S. back line is getting torn asunder. Sirias takes a stroll down the left, plays a nice one-two that leaves Wynne and Onyewu in his wake and squares to a wide-open Borges, who slams it home from eight yards out. That's shambolic defending by the U.S.

15 mins: A first sign of life for the U.S. After the teams trade a pair of long punts, the ball falls to Michael Bradley, who chips it in to Donovan at the top of the box. Donovan swivels and fires a high half-volley over the top of the goal.

17 mins: That was almost three for Costa Rica. Wallace (uncle of D.C.'s Rodney) crosses deep to the far right of Howard's goal, where Saborio jumps unimpeded and forces a fine save from Howard at his near post with a fierce header. There were two U.S. defenders right there standing and watching Saborio without even contesting him. The lack of energy by the U.S. is shocking.

19 mins: The U.S. are still struggling to maintain possession, but finally manage to work the ball up the right to Wynne, who wins a free throw. The ensuing free throw by Onyewu into the box is grabbed easily by Navas.

22 mins: Costa Rica is having it all their way now, their midfield is having a lot of time on the ball -- surprising because you'd expect Mastroeni to be snapping at those players' heels -- and switching the point of attack from wing to wing.

23 mins: Another deep cross from Costa Rica is headed out by Beasley for a throw-in near the corner flag. The throw-in comes to nothing as Torres breaks up the play and feeds Donovan, who has a chance to break. He squares it to Dempsey, who sprays it wide to Altidore, who loses his dribble as he enters the box.

25 mins: U.S. earns a free kick. It's about 35-40 yards out. Dempsey fancies his luck and tries a long-range shot which sails harmlessly over the bar.

27 mins: A promising U.S. build-up ends with a poor pass by Dempsey into space for ... no one. He was probably anticipating Altidore running into space but there was clearly a miscommunication there.

29 mins: Altidore drops near his own half to receive a ball from Dempsey, turns and looks like he's a half-step away but is hacked down by Fernandez. That's a yellow card for the Costa Rican defender.

30 mins: Beasley charges down the left and is unceremoniously hacked down. That'll be a free kick in a dangerous spot for the U.S. Donovan's first attempt is called back for some pre-kick infringement. His second attempt is low, and easily cleared.

34 mins: Ruiz gets the ball on the left and tries to take on Onyewu, but the U.S. defender is up to the challenge and clears the ball.

36 mins: Another long ball into the U.S. box by Centeno and again Saborio is wide open, sneaking in behind Wynne. He heads the ball back across the U.S. box, and Onyewu takes no chances and heads out for a corner. From the corner, the U.S. fails to clear and Saborio tries a snap shot. It's well struck but over the bar. That could have been the third, and Howard is not a happy man.

40 mins: It's safe to say that the U.S. midfield has been close to nonexistent so far. Mastroeni has barely made a tackle, which presumably was his primary designated role tonight. Just as I type that, Torres makes a nice pass out to Altidore, who draws another foul with a nice step-over move.

42 mins: Donovan sends another low cross into the box which almost falls to Altidore. Altidore stoops low to try to head the ball but fails to connect and Costa Rica clears again.

45 mins: The U.S. have a throw-in near the corner flag with time running out, we're into injury time for the first half. Again it's cleared and Costa Rica breaks to midfield before losing the ball. The game's far from over, but it's safe to say it's not looking promising for the U.S. And there's the whistle.

HALFTIME: There's no doubt the U.S. needs to make some changes. One change that definitely needs to be made is Rico Clark on for Mastroeni. Not only has Mastroeni been ineffective but he also looks gassed and out of energy. The U.S. need to pressure the ball more in midfield and stop the Ticos from getting too comfortable out there.

Interesting piece of trivia. Josep Guardiola played a seven-minute film before the Champions League final against Manchester United for his Barcelona squad. It was a specially edited montage of Russell Crowe's "Gladiator" spliced with footage of Barcelona players. The motivational ploy worked, and the Barca squad left the dressing room fired up and apparently some were on the verge of tears, so revved up were they from watching themselves in action. So the question is, what film snippet should Bradley show at halftime to inspire his troops? "Terminator Salvation"? "300"? "High School Musical"?

If it were up to me, I'd argue a good case could be made for simply showing a picture of actress Olivia Wilde. Why? Well consider this statement recently by Megan Fox, who said, "Olivia Wilde is so sexy, she makes me want to strangle a mountain ox with my bare hands." If Wilde can do that an actress who's no slouch herself, imagine the kind of testosterone-fueled comeback she could inspire in the second half for the U.S.

Alternatively, one could look at the stats and see that the U.S. hasn't scored in Saprissa since the beginning of the decade and that Costa Rica has a plus-25 goal difference (29 scored, 4 conceded) in its past 11 home qualifiers and conclude that this game is pretty much over.

We're getting ready for the second half and it seems as if a midfielder is coming in, but it's Kljestan coming in for Torres. That's a terrible substitution in my opinion. Granted, Torres was partially at fault for the first goal, but after that, he looked fairly composed on the ball.

46 mins: The Ticos get under way by storming down the U.S.' left flank and crossing. Ruiz tries an overhead kick but fails to connect.

47 mins: Costa Rica maintains the pressure by winning a corner. The U.S. clears, but it falls to Herron outside the box, and Herron once again tries one of his patented wayward volleys. He doesn't disappoint.

49 mins: The U.S. earns its first corner on a deflected shot that goes out of bounds. The U.S. plays it short to Donovan, who crosses for the far post for Dempsey, but it's too heavy and Dempsey can't get there before it sails out of bounds.

50 mins: So nearly three for Costa Rica. Sirias sends in a nice ball from the right side and Borges sneaks in and connects on the volley, but it goes wide. In the meantime, all the subs are off the bench for the U.S. and warming up.

52 mins: A hopeful cross into the Costa Rica box almost turns into a chance for the U.S. as Altidore gathers and dribbles past one defender before the ball is deflected out of bounds for a corner. From the corner, the U.S. plays it short again and Beasley sends in a looping cross which is headed clear.

54 mins: Yellow card for Michael Bradley, taking down Centeno from behind. That means Bradley misses the next U.S. qualifier. An appalling decision -- it was a foul, but not even close to a yellow.

55 mins: Sub for the Ticos. Pablo Herrera on for Wallace.

56 mins: A touch for Navas! The Costa Rican goalkeeper is finally brought into play by gathering a cross. On his way, he presumably put down his newspaper where he'd been happily filling in a crossword puzzle and surfing his iPhone, such has been the lack of U.S. offense tonight.

59 mins: Mastroeni picks up the ball in midfield about 30 yards out, and in lots of space. He eyes the goal and -- despite millions of U.S. fans at home simultaneously screaming "NOOOOOOO!!!!!" -- he decides it'd be a good idea to unleash a "pile driver" at goal. You can guess the result.

61 mins: It appears Freddy Adu might be coming on -- probably a good idea given that, so far, the U.S. has displayed the cutting edge of a helium-filled balloon wrapped delicately in Styrofoam.

62 mins: Adu is indeed on, and off goes Mastroeni.

63 mins: Another free kick for the U.S. Donovan sends in a good ball this time, but it comes to nothing. It must be said that the Costa Ricans have defended set pieces well today.

66 mins: A pair of bookings in quick succession, first Kljestan then Herrera. The free kick again comes to nothing as Donovan's attempted cross is blocked by the wall.

68 mins: GOAL! Costa Rica 3-0. Another stunner, and this game is as good as over. Centeno gets the ball on the left side of the U.S. box and dribbles around before laying the ball off to sub Herrera. Herrera dribbles around in a circle and leaves Bradley and Kljestan in his wake before gliding past Bocanegra and gently prodding a left-footed daisy-cutter past Howard. The U.S. defense made Herrera look like Dani Alves there. Bradley also looks gassed, as does Kljestan. In Bradley's defense, he's been toiling out there for a while, but what's Kljestan's excuse?

71 mins: Bolanos on for Herron. Costa Rica certainly aren't taking their foot off the pedal. The crowd is giving it the full "Ole!" now with every completed pass.

73 mins: Second random quote, this time from renegade reincarnated spiritual leader Osel Hita Torres. "I was amazed to watch everyone. What were all those people doing, bouncing, stuck to one another, enclosed in a box full of smoke?" You wouldn't be faulted for thinking that Torres was talking about watching a game here at Saprissa, but actually he's talking about witnessing his first-ever disco.

76 mins: Costa Rica takes off Saborio.

78 mins: Adu picks the ball up , lays it off nicely to Bradley, who tries to storm into the box but is tackled. The U.S. gets the ball back, and Altidore wins another free kick, just outside this box this time. Adu takes it and tries a direct shot on goal, but it's well over the bar.

79 mins: Dempsey off, Davies on.

80 mins: After Davies makes a positive impression with a nice burst down the right side and a cross (which is cleared), Adu plays a nice give-and-go with Bradley, then tries to find Beasley with a subtle pass into the inside-right channel. Nice try, but unfortunately the pass for Beasley is too strong and goes out of bounds.

82 mins: A comedy piece of play-acting by Diaz, who pretends that Davies kneed him in the face while he was sitting on the ground. The delayed reaction by Diaz, who falls down clutching his face about five minutes after Davies allegedly made contact. Diaz even has the temerity to be outraged by the referee's lack of action.

85 mins: The game has petered out with the Costa Ricans looking as if they're already thinking about how to celebrate. Adu tees it up from about 40 yards out and lets fly. A tad ambitious, but at least he's still trying. Moments earlier, Beasley had worked himself into a nice position down the Costa Rican right side near the byline, but his cross was poor and failed to clear the defender.

88 mins: Bocanegra gives away a free kick right outside the U.S. box. Half the Costa Rican team lines up to take a pop, and after a series of step-overs, Centeno tries a curler that forces a good save from Howard.

90 mins: Penalty for the U.S. as Onyewu is fouled in the box.

91 mins: GOAL! Costa Rica 3-1 U.S. Donovan steps up, slides the penalty to his left with the keeper diving the wrong way.

FULLTIME -- Costa Rica 3-1 U.S.

A serious blow to the U.S. hopes for smooth World Cup qualification, with the game against Honduras this Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) taking on even more importance now. There's not a lot of positives (if any) to draw from this U.S. performance, as Bradley's men were comprehensively outplayed by Costa Rica.

The team as a whole was poor from top to bottom, with the exception of Howard, who was really left hung out to dry by his defense. Following on from the rather fortuitous draw against El Salvador, this was another shaky outing by the U.S., and hard questions need to be asked of Bob Bradley and his coaching staff.