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USA Soccer Visits The Toughest Venue You’ve Absolutely Never Heard Of

Jun 2, 2009, 9:15 PM UTC

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â†µIf you, like most Americans, are vaguely aware that the United Statesâ†µhas a national team in a sport in which you can't use your hands and getâ†µbeaten by goofy-looking foreigners who apparently have unstable plasticâ†µexplosives lodged all over their bodies, then you probably know that inâ†µNorth America soccer basically boils down to USA vs. Mexico.â†µ

â†µâ†µBut Central America does exist, and there are a bunch of countries inâ†µit. One of them is Costa Rica, which you may remember as that otherâ†µCONCACAF team that bombs out of the World Cup every four years. Theâ†µUSMNT plays there tomorrow, looking for its first win at Estadio Ricardoâ†µSaprissa since . . . uh . . . the dawn of time. They’re also lookingâ†µfor their first point since 1985. â†µ

â†µâ†µYes, whether it’s the malaria, or the crowd that would definitelyâ†µtear you limb from limb just for your meat, or the batteries of unusualâ†µvelocity, or the fields that look like sets from Terminator:â†µSalvation, Central America is a hell of a place to play a soccerâ†µmatch. â†µ

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â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â†µ

â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥ â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥Teamâ†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥ â†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥	Pld	W	D	L	GD	Pts
Unitedâ†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥States	3	2	1	0	+5	7
Coâ†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥staâ†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥Rica	3	2	0	1	+1	6
Hondâ†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥uras	3	1	1	1	0	4
Mexicoâ†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥	3	1	0	2	-2	3
Eâ†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥lâ†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥Salvador	3	0	2	1	-1	2
Trinidadâ†µâ‡¥â‡¥â‡¥and Tobago	3	0	2	1	-3	2

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â†µâ†µUsually the Central American sides make up for this by beingâ†µstunningly incompetent, but the last time the USA ventured down there itâ†µtook a spectacular comeback merely to tie El Salvador 2-2. And Costaâ†µRica has been the third-best team in CONCACAF for about the last decade.â†µSo what goes down in Saprissa will be of major import, especially withâ†µMexico limpingâ†µalong at 1-2 in the hex.â†µ

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â†µThis goes double because the last time out Bob Bradley finallyâ†µdeviated from his precious 4-4-1-1 and went with a bizarre formationâ†µthat was sort of a 2-6-2, with two dedicated forwards (Brian Ching andâ†µJozy Altidore, peace be upon him), two sorta-wingers who tucked inside aâ†µlot (Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey), two box-to-box defensiveâ†µmidfielders (the younger Bradley and Pablo Mastroeni), and a four-manâ†µbackline that featured obvious non-defender DeMarcus Beasley and ageless surfer dude Frankie Hedjuk as bombing threatsâ†µdown the wing. (Hedjuk is injured and won't go, FWIW.)â†µ

â†µâ†µThis odd setup shreddedâ†µTrinidad and Tobago, with Altidore, peace be upon him, picking up aâ†µhat trick. Sure, it’s just T&T, but if Bradley goes with the sameâ†µformation and it does well in a place where the US hasn’t won since theâ†µdawn of time (!!!), they’re cooking just before they launch into one ofâ†µthe busiest summers the US will ever have, with qualifiers, the Goldâ†µCup, and at least three huge games (Brazil, Italy, andâ†µbetter-than-you-think Egypt) in the Confederations Cup. â†µ

â†µâ†µThis could be the most important game against a non-Mexico CONCACAFâ†µfoe ... ever!â†µ

â†µâ†µEVER!â†µ

â†µâ†µ(ESPN, 10 p.m. ET Wednesday. Check it.)â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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