The United States Men’s National Team got 2025 off to a bright start on Saturday in Ft. Lauderdale with a 3-1 win over Venezuela, before a crowd of 18,008. Starting off the year with a win was of the utmost importance, as there is just over a year until the 2026 World Cup begins and every game is an opportunity for US Soccer to get more people invested in the USMNT before the tournament. But Saturday’s game wasn’t the only opportunity for the USMNT at this year’s January Camp. They get another chance to make a good impression when they travel up the road from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando to take on Costa Rica.
The win against Venezuela was about as competent and professional a performance as anybody could ask for, given the nature of the roster and the camp. The US seemed to be the better team for most, if not all, of the game and was duly rewarded in the 37th minute when Jack McGlynn of the Philadelphia Union put the US ahead with a blast from 30 yards out. The US then almost immediately doubled their advantage two minutes later when Charlotte FC’s Patrick Agyemang beat the Venezuelan keeper inside the penalty area. Things continued to get better for the US in the second half when the mysterious Matko Miljevic made up for missing a penalty three minutes into the game by scoring a great goal from just outside the penalty area. Venezuela was able to pull a goal back shortly after that but it was too little, too late and Mauricio Pochettino won his fourth game out of five in charge of the USMNT.
Following the disaster that was last year’s Copa America, Pochettino has done a very good job of rebuilding the US on the field and helping to restore the faith of the fans off the field. Four wins out of five games, including three straight, since taking over is nothing to sneeze at. The World Cup is coming and a successful USMNT heading into a home World Cup would do wonders for the game of soccer in the United States. Pochettino gets another chance to further that aim with a game against Costa Rica.
Like the US, Costa Rica did not have a great 2024. Their W-L-D record was decent enough (7-3-5), but it was the results in the games that really mattered where they fell short. They too were eliminated from the Copa America at the group stage, though they managed to earn four points while the US only got three. At the end of the year, they were eliminated from the Nations League at the quarter-final stage, meaning they will have to go through a special qualification process for this summer’s Gold Cup. The unsatisfying results led to a managerial change, with the Ticos turning to former Mexico boss Miguel Herrera earlier this month. Herrera became something of a cult hero during the 2014 World Cup for his wild celebrations and then won the 2015 Gold Cup, but was fired almost immediately after the tournament for fighting a journalist in line at the airport. For this game against the US, Herrera has called in an entirely domestic-based roster. Much like Venezuela’s roster that faced the US, this one is light on both experience and goal scoring. Only goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado has 25 or more caps and only midfielder Allan Cruz has scored more than one international goal. Of the 24 players on the roster, nine of them have no caps and a further two players have exactly one cap.
Notes
- Wednesday’s game against Costa Rica will be the 8th USMNT game in Orlando since October of 2017.
When, Where
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Venue: Inter & Co Stadium
City: Orlando, Florida
Time: 6pm CT
TV: TNT
All-Time Series
USA leads 19-17-6
Last Meeting
Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Venue: Estadio Nacional
City: San Jose, Costa Rica
Result: USA 0-2 Costa Rica
FIFA Ranking
USA: 16
Costa Rica: 54
Next Game
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Competition: Nations League
Match-Up: USA vs. Panama
Venue: SoFi Stadium
City: Los Angeles, California
Time: TBD
TV: TBD
Photo Credit: US Soccer