Costa Rica heads to Florida to face their old foe, the USA, in a mid-season friendly match on Wednesday evening. This encounter will give Tico supporters a first glimpse of newly appointed head coach Miguel Herrera.
USA Profile
Once considered a niche sport in America, football (or soccer to our friends from the States!) has, in recent years, cemented itself into the country’s mainstream. Aided by the arrival of Lionel Messi and their announcement as the host of the upcoming 2026 World Cup, soccer is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. Major League Soccer (MLS) recently set a new regular-season attendance record of over 11 million fans for 2024, bettered only by the English Premier League among all global leagues.
The Stars and Stripes have enjoyed plenty of success at international level, winning seven CONCACAF Gold Cups, the second-most in the tournament’s history (behind only Mexico), including the 2-0 victory over Costa Rica in the 2002 final. Their most recent title was a 1-0 win over Mexico in the 2021 final. The USA has also participated in 11 World Cups, the 14th highest in the world, above the likes of Portugal and Japan.
2024 was a transition period for The Yanks; coach Gregg Berhalter was sacked in July following their group-stage exit at the 2024 Copa América and replaced with renowned Argentine Mauricio Pochettino. So far, Pochettino has delivered four wins and one defeat in his five-game tenure, including the 3-1 victory over Venezuela last week. Much is expected of the former Tottenham and Chelsea manager as they approach the 2026 World Cup, which the US has automatically qualified for by virtue of being one of the co-hosts.
This contest does not fall within the FIFA international window, meaning the US roster is comprised solely of MLS players taking part in the national team’s annual January camp in Orlando.
As a result, European-based stars like Sergiño Dest, Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Christian Pulisic, and Timothy Weah will all be missing.
Nonetheless, Pochettino’s 24-man squad still possesses plenty of quality, including experienced defenders Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman, MLS Young Player of the Year Diego Luna, Lionel Messi’s teammate at Inter Miami Benjamin Cremaschi, and clinical striker Jesús Ferreira, who has an impressive 15 goals in 23 caps at for the USA.
The match will take place at the 25,500-seater capacity Inter & Co Stadium, which is also home to Orlando City Soccer Club of the MLS.
Costa Rica Team News
Despite the tie being nothing more than a mere friendly, it still holds great significance, as it is the first game in charge for the recently appointed head coach, Miguel Herrera.
The experienced Mexican affectionately nicknamed “Piojo” (Spanish for “louse”) because of his energetic and animated personality, both on and off the field, has coached over 800 professional matches since his first job at Atlante back in 2002, including 36 in charge of his home nation Mexico, where he became renowned for his effusive celebrations on the touchline during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. At the tournament, Piojo guided Mexico out of a tricky group containing the hosts, Cameroon and Croatia, before his team heartbreakingly lost to the Netherlands in the round-of-16, thanks to a controversial stoppage-time penalty.
A year later, he guided Mexico to the CONCACAF Gold Cup title after defeating Jamaica 3–1 in the final. However, just days after the victory, Herrera was fired after an alleged physical altercation with commentator Christian Martinoli at Philadelphia International Airport.
At club level, Piojo first gained recognition at Club América, where he won his first league championship in 2013. In 2018, he won a second Liga MX title in his second spell with the club and the Campeón de Campeones in 2019.
Like their opponents, Los Ticos are also unable to call upon their European-based players, and Herrera has called up a squad solely consisting of domestic-based players, meaning the likes of captain Francisco Calvo, goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira, defender Jeyland Mitchell, midfielder Brandon Aguilera, and attackers Warren Madrigal, Alonso Martínez Manfred Ugalde, and Kenneth Vargas are all unavailable.
The multiple absentees have allowed for new players to impress, with 10 players being called up to the national team for the first time, including goalkeeper Anthony Walker, defenders Kevin Espinoza and Santiago van der Putten, and winger Josimar Méndez.
Nonetheless, the roster still includes many familiar faces, including Esteban Alvarado, Joseph Mora, Haxzel Quirós, Allan Cruz, Alejandro Bran and Andy Rojas. Historically, Miguel Herrera favors a 5-3-2 formation, so with that in mind, here is a possible lineup for the match.
Possible Starting 11: Alvarado; Quirós, Faerrón, Espinoza, van der Putten Mora; Cruz, Bran, Acuña; Ocampos, Rojas
Head-to-Head History
Costa Rica hasn’t faced their CONCACAF rival since the World Cup qualifier match in March 2022 in San José, where La Sele triumphed 2-0 thanks to goals from Juan Pablo Vargas and Anthony Contreras.
The two nations have met on 41 occasions since 1975, with the USA coming out winners 19 times, Costa Rica 17, and the remaining six encounters ending in draws.
In recent years, the nations have developed a sort of rivalry; the reason for this was a 2014 World Cup qualifying match played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, under blizzard conditions. Costa Rica filed a protest with FIFA due to field conditions after the United States won the game 1–0, but were denied recourse. The game was dubbed “Snow Clasico” for the infamous circumstances.
America is ranked 38 places above Costa Rica in the FIFA rankings, sitting at 16th spot, and with the added benefit of home advantage, they enter the match as firm favorites. However, Herrera will be hoping to cause a surprise in his inaugural game in charge.
Kick-off is at 19:00 UTC−05:00, January 22nd, at Inter & Co Stadium, Orlando, Florida.
