Steven Goff reports from San Jose, Costa Rica that, "A few hundred U.S. backers, mostly young and mostly dressed in colorful, patriotic garb, made their way into the steep upper deck and seemed to mix nicely with their hosts." But the U.S. fans weren't rewarded for the efforts to make the trip to Saprissa stadium.
The USA went down after just 85 seconds because of a long-range effort from Alvaro Saborio and went on to fall, 3-1. "He hit a fantastic shot," said U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra. "That's exactly how we didn't want to start the game."
Goff points out the USA remains heavily favored to secure one of the three automatic berths to next year's World Cup in South Africa, but "this embarrassing result left the squad in an uneasy situation heading into Saturday's match against a dangerous Honduras side at Chicago's Soldier Field." In August, the USA must visit Mexico's Azteca Stadium, where, like Saprissa, it has never won.