New York Times columnist George Vecsey calls the USA 3-1 loss to Costa Rica on Wednesday “a throwback to the bad old days of two decades ago, when the national team often looked pitiful on the road in the Americas, to say nothing of Europe.”
Now the Americans need to bounce back against Honduras on Saturday (TV: 8 pm ET, ESPN & Galavision). The game is in Chicago, but the expected crowd of 60,000 is likely to be comprised of more Honduran supporters than U.S. fans. Vecsey points out the USA will play without defensive midfielder Michael Bradley, “who took an unnecessary yellow card with a late and rough hit in the 54th minute when he should have remembered he was already carrying a caution from a previous match.”
Vecsey writes that “It was this mix of brain lock and timidity that marked the American effort in the ’80s and well into the ’90s. This was an unimpressive showing all around. But at least the Yanks have raised expectations in the past decade. One actually expects more of them, which is a good sign. Maybe.”