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The United States desperately needed to get their strikers involved and scoring before of possible Gold Cup final.
Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey delivered second half goals as the USMNT defeated Costa Rica 2-0 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, to advance to the 2017 Gold Cup Final.
The USA’s best chance of the first half would surprisingly come seconds into the match. Right off the kickoff the US charged forward, eventually Jordan Morris being played in on the near post but his shot in the first minute rattled off the post and was cleared.
Costa Rican striker Marco Urena had two of the best chances for Los Ticos on the night, both times being stonewalled by Tim Howard coming off his line. Winger Bryan Ruiz also made a significant contribution with his skill on the ball, and would’ve been in line for an assist in the first half were it not for the heroics of Howard. The US keeper notched his 41st international shutout making two saves on the night.
Kellyn Acosta had a long rip from distance in the 70th minute that was parried and eventually caught by Patrick Pemberton in the Costa Rica goal. A minute later Urena had his second big chance of the night and then it was back the other way for the US.
Substitute Clint Dempsey got the ball in midfield and turned upfield before slotting a perfect through ball to Jozy Altidore who finished past an onrushing Pemberton for the opener. It was Altidore’s first international goal of 2017 and first US goal in almost a year and he celebrated by taking his shirt off and getting a booking.
Ten minutes later, Acosta was fouled in the final third to set up a US free kick, and Clint Dempsey stepped up:
THERE IT IS! Dempsey ties Landon Donovan atop the #USMNT all-time scoring charts! @ModeloUSA #ModeloSoccer #USAvCRC https://t.co/wn0jTBDktn
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 23, 2017
Dempsey tied the United States MNT all-time scoring record with Landon Donovan by scoring his 57th goal in his home state of Texas. Donovan was in the FS1 broadcast booth doing color commentary for the match.
The United States will play the winner of the second Gold Cup semifinal tomorrow between Mexico and Jamaica. The final will be played on Wednesday, July 26th, fro