World Cup 2022: USMNT's mindset, strategy at Costa Rica

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

In their heart of hearts, every member of the U.S. Men’s National Team expected victory in Sunday’s must-win match against Panama.

But a 5-1 thrashing that, in theory at least, renders Wednesday’s World Cup qualifying finale in Costa Rica (9:05 p.m. ET) mostly anticlimactic? Nobody expected that.

They wanted a lopsided win, sure. With the USMNT tied on points with Costa Rica before the game and with goal difference the first tiebreaker, the idea in Orlando was to bag as many as possible. But filling the net against a desperate opponent wasn’t especially likely for a team that scored more than two goals just twice in its first 12 Octagonal matches, both times on last-place Honduras.

But after exploding for five goals on the strength of Christian Pulisic’s hat trick, the Americans head into the house of horrors that has been Costa Rican capital San Jose, knowing that only a six-goal loss or worse can stop them from reaching Qatar this fall and returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2014.

Technically, the U.S. could lose by 20, and they’d still have an excellent chance to make the tournament in an intercontinental playoff, as they’re now guaranteed at least a fourth-place finish in CONCACAF.

The unusual situation raises all sorts of questions, from the practical to the outlandish.

How conservatively should the U.S. play? Will coach Gregg Berhalter’s lineup go heavy on defenders? Could the Americans simply forfeit, take the automatic 3-0 loss and not even bother making the trip?

For the record, when that prospect was jokingly mentioned to a USSF spokesman, he said the U.S. would never consider forfeiting and that FIFA probably wouldn’t look kindly on any federation that tried to game the system.

As far as Berhalter and his players are concerned, there’s only one approach: Treat Wednesday like any other game.

"We’re going to prepare exactly the same as we would if we needed a win," Pulisic said. "We’re going to go there, and we want to win."

If they do, it would be a first. The U.S. have never won a qualifier in Costa Rica. They have tied there just once, in 1985, in the city of Alajuela. In San Jose, site of Wednesday’s contest, the Americans' all-time record in qualifying is 0-9, with a minus-16 goal differential.

Even before qualifying was all but assured, Berhalter used the USMNT's historic futility in Costa Rica and Mexico as motivation for this three-game window. The U.S. came as close as they ever have to beating El Tri at Azteca Stadium in last week’s scoreless tie.

Now, they get another chance to finally plant their flag.

"This group has never won a qualifier in San Jose," Berhalter said Sunday. "The guys are hungry for that. We'll put a lineup on the field that is going to go for the win."

Still, qualifying for the World Cup remains the chief priority. If the U.S. are losing by a couple goals late in the match, they’re not likely to throw numbers into the attack in an attempt to score.

Berhalter will also probably be less inclined to ride key players such as Pulisic and Tyler Adams, who did a ton of heavy lifting in the first two games and have been prone to muscle injuries in the past.

Maybe he gives hard-running left back Antonee "Jedi" Robinson, one of three players to go the distance versus Mexico and Panama (keeper Zack Steffen and central defender Walker Zimmerman are the others) a rest. 

Berhalter figures to be especially careful with prized teenager Gio Reyna, who is still not fully fit after missing more than five months of Borussia Dortmund’s season due to a torn hamstring. Reyna tore his hamstring in the Americans’ first qualifier in September.

While club teams are required to release players during FIFA’s designated international windows, maintaining good relations is important. Berhalter will want to try to make sure he sends his European-based stars home in the same condition in which they arrived.

"The important thing is just qualifying for the World Cup, first of all, but secondly is Gio returning healthy to his club," Berhalter said two weeks ago when he announced this month’s roster.

The same surely applies to Pulisic, who missed 12 games for Chelsea last fall after injuring his ankle in the Americans' third qualifying match.

"We'll evaluate the health of guys and the guys that have [played] major minutes," Berhalter said after Sunday’s big win. "But we want to put a team on the field that's going to compete. I don't think the guys would want any less."

After failing to make it four years ago — the USMNT’s first World Cup miss since 1986 — the players certainly don’t want to back into this year’s event with a loss.

"The mentality of this group is completely different from the past," said winger Paul Arriola, one of just four holdovers from the 2017 squad. "I have full confidence in this team to get a good result against Costa Rica."

Berhalter's squad expects nothing less.

One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.