US vs. Costa Rica, RFK Stadium 10/14

[CAHoya07]

Anybody else going tonight?

Not too much drama on the American side after winning at Honduras to lock up the 2010 bid on Saturday. However, still have a chance to finish first in CONCACAF. For Costa Rica, on the other hand, the pressure is on to win and snatch that third qualifying spot.

Never been to a U.S. national team game before, so needless to say I'm excited, even though I'll be in the upper deck. The U.S. flag I'll be wearing looks nice hanging in my office this morning.

Also, horrible news about what happened to Charlie Davies and the poor girl who lost her life in the accident, thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved.

[HoyasAreHungry]

the Davies accident sure puts a damper on the evening. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and thoughts are with the others involved. Truly tragic. Will be interesting to see how the US focuses in light of this

[hifigator]

My gut instinct is that since we have already clinched, but Costa needs the win, that the Davies accident just might be enough of a distraction to swing the outcome to them. I certainly hope not, nor do I in any way make light of such a tragedy to begin with.

[theexorcist]

I've been to one qualifying match at RFK every time since qualifying for the '98 WC. The best one was the first - Jamaica tied the US, and their fans afterwards yelled "they're not Reggae Boyz, they're Reggae Lions"!

Sam's Army is always fun. Wear red if you can.

[RusskyHoya]

I'll be there, along with FLHoya, HoyaSinceBirth, and vcjack. The Davies thing really came out of left field. I know they're world-class athletes and need their down time and whatever, but 3:15 a.m., really? Gotta use better judgment there. I've never been to a national team game either, so I'm excited, even if RFK is fast approaching old Veteran's Stadium in Philly for "I can't believe this place hasn't been condemned yet" stadium decrepity.

I'm coming from work, but I am wearing a red shirt, solid blue tie, and light khaki pants...patriotic enough?

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Doesn't costa rica wear red?

[HoyasAreHungry]

Oct 14, 2009 10:45:12 GMT -5 HoyaSinceBirth said:

Doesn't costa rica wear red?

yes although Sam's army does tell people to wear red always

[hifigator]

I'll keep an eye out for you guys. So you'll be "the ones" wearing red?

Have you drawn straws yet to see who gets to streak across the field?

[PhillyHoya]

Cuba was a fun one last year. Although that may have been more for half the team defecting at the Doubletree in Crystal City and the guy sitting behind me who HAAAAAAAATED Landon Donovan.

[vcjack]

Oct 14, 2009 10:34:46 GMT -5 RusskyHoya said:

The Davies thing really came out of left field. I know they're world-class athletes and need their down time and whatever, but 3:15 a.m., really? Gotta use better judgment there.

He (along with Landycakes, Stuart Holden, and Brian Ching) was at Tombs until at least 2 AM on Sunday night so it seems like the team decided to party a bit this week in the buildup to the game*.

Not that I care, they did clinch after all and and they deserve it. Still a terrible tragedy though.

[FLHoya]

It could really go either way.

Costa Rica needs a result to help avoid the playoff against the 5th place South America team--and a win to eliminate all doubt--so they're in it to win it. They score first or Honduras gets down in San Salvador, you're gonna get a first-class exhibition of anti-football from the Ticos.

On the other hand, if the US goes ahead at any point or Honduras looks headed for 3 points, you may well see some exciting back and forth as Costa Rica throws the kitchen sink forward and leaves acres of space behind.

Another complicating factor--the weather in DC tonight is terrible. Damp, light rain and temps in the high 40s. RFK is an okay pitch (considering the stadium is an absolute POS) but it ain't ideal.

I don't think the US makes a ton of changes...my guess is Altidore will start in place of Davies, might see Benny Feilhaber and/or Robby Rogers in midfield, maybe Cherundolo instead of Bornstein, and possible Brad Guzan in goal...although they could go with the same lineup as Saturday minus Davies and I wouldn't be shocked.

Should be interesting. I'll say 2-1 US on goals from Donovan and whichever of the gigantors Casey or Ching starts.

[redskins12820]

Oct 14, 2009 14:21:39 GMT -5 vcjack said:

Oct 14, 2009 10:34:46 GMT -5 RusskyHoya said:

The Davies thing really came out of left field. I know they're world-class athletes and need their down time and whatever, but 3:15 a.m., really? Gotta use better judgment there.

He (along with Landycakes, Stuart Holden, and Brian Ching) was at Tombs until at least 2 AM on Sunday night so it seems like the team decided to party a bit this week in the buildup to the game*.

Not that I care, they did clinch after all and and they deserve it. Still a terrible tragedy though.

Did you personally see them, or was it through a friend of a friend of a friend....

[hifigator]

Unreal finish!


I guess I can root for Costa to win the playoff.

[The Stig]

YYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Never been that pumped up for a draw!

[PhillyHoya]

Oct 14, 2009 20:24:27 GMT -5 redskins12820 said:

Oct 14, 2009 14:21:39 GMT -5 vcjack said:

He (along with Landycakes, Stuart Holden, and Brian Ching) was at Tombs until at least 2 AM on Sunday night so it seems like the team decided to party a bit this week in the buildup to the game*.

Not that I care, they did clinch after all and and they deserve it. Still a terrible tragedy though.

Did you personally see them, or was it through a friend of a friend of a friend....

No, it was a legit sighting. I had several friends who spotted them.

[FLHoya]

Oct 14, 2009 17:20:01 GMT -5 FLHoya said:

It could really go either way.

It went none of the ways I described.

That'll forever be a "USA beats Costa Rica 2-2" game. Best reaction from a RFK crowd I can remember since the 2004 MLS Eastern Conference finals.

Fitting that Costa Rica's coach Rene Simoes was sent off near the end. He authored a textbook case of how NOT to hold a lead when you absolutely, positively need three points on the road to qualify for the World Cup and are already up 2-0. The US, as tragically awful as they were all night with their finishing, basically won off the law of averages because Costa Rica couldn't hold possession and--aside from the "injury" incident that led to Simoes being sent off (and probably added a minute of extra stoppage time*--D'OH!)--didn't really bother with trying to bleed the clock.

Jonathan Bornstein. HA! Well, it's better than leaving one of the tall guys unmarked I guess. This is the second time a team has been knocked out or in Costa Rica's case almost knocked out of the World Cup in the last minute of lengthy stoppage time--it happened to Saudi Arabia against Bahrain in the Asia playoff too.

Speaking of defense--hope Jay Demerit's better before the Denmark friendly b/c with Gooch out several months with the torn tendon, that central defense is looking mighty thin.

(*CONCACAF refs get a lot of crap, and sometimes justifiably so, but Benito Archundia managed the stoppage time issue expertly in the second half, and repeatedly made clear when players were time-wasting on injuries or substitutions that he wasn't buying it. Plus, he allows legal shoulder charges, which nooooooobody in CONCACAF seems to do.)

[vcjack]

Oct 14, 2009 20:24:27 GMT -5 redskins12820 said:

Oct 14, 2009 14:21:39 GMT -5 vcjack said:

He (along with Landycakes, Stuart Holden, and Brian Ching) was at Tombs until at least 2 AM on Sunday night so it seems like the team decided to party a bit this week in the buildup to the game*.

Not that I care, they did clinch after all and and they deserve it. Still a terrible tragedy though.

Did you personally see them, or was it through a friend of a friend of a friend....

Yep I did, they are all surprisingly small people (and subsequently lightweights) but they didn't seem like d-bags and they appreciated it when I congratulated them on clinching.


As for tonight's game, that was just an EPIC FAIL by Costa Rica. As FL points out, instead of trying to control possession to chew up time, they cowardly do things like fake injuries and slowly sub in players. They deserved that last minute dagger

[CAHoya07]

My heart does go out to Costa Rica, because man, they were within about 30 seconds of clinching a World Cup berth. But wow, what a finish by the US. We had many opportunities and finally broke through, just in the nick of time. Sure felt like a victory. Touching tributes to Davies as well.

This, along with Mexico's 2-2 tie vs. Trinidad & Tobago, gives the US a first place finish in the North and Central America qualifying. Not sure sure how much that means, but definitely does not hurt.

Crowd was at least half Costa Rican fans, and they got loud at times. It's funny that they have pretty much the same colors as the US. The US crowd got some momentum going in the second half, and the stadium really exploded with the tying goal. While ESPN.com has the attendance listed as 30,000 in the box score, it was announced at RFK last night as 26,000 and some change. I think RFK holds about 45,000. I'm not sure how much weather affected the turnout. It actually wasn't too bad - chilly, showers in the first half, but it cleared up in the second half.

All in all, definitely got me pumped up for South Africa.

[theexorcist]

Oct 15, 2009 9:10:28 GMT -5 CAHoya07 said:

My heart does go out to the Costa Rica, because man, they were within about 30 seconds of clinching a World Cup berth. But wow, what a finish by the US. We had many opportunities and finally broke through, just in the nick of time. Sure felt like a victory. Touching tributes to Davies as well.

This, along with Mexico's 2-2 tie vs. Trinidad & Tobago, gives the US a first place finish in the North and Central America qualifying. Not sure sure how much that means, but definitely does not hurt.

Crowd was at least half Costa Rican fans, and they got loud at times. It's funny that they have pretty much the same colors as the US. The US crowd got some momentum going in the second half, and the stadium really exploded with the tying goal. While ESPN.com has the attendance listed as 30,000 in the box score, it was announced at RFK last night as 26,000 and some change. I think RFK holds about 45,000. I'm not sure how much weather affected the turnout. It actually wasn't too bad - chilly, showers in the first half, but it cleared up in the second half.

All in all, definitely got me pumped up for South Africa.

Yes, things were bad for CR, but it could have been worse.

1. Zambia's soccer team were trying to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. Midway through qualifying, a plane crash killed 18 members of the national team plus most of the coaching staff (the captain wasn't on board due to some requirements for his pro team and traveled separately).

The recreated team, needing to tie or win, lost 1-0 to Morocco and had a controversial call that didn't allow a penalty late in the game.

2. Also for the 1994 World Cup for Japan ... well, it has its own Wikipedia page - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agony_of_Doha .

Apparently, the story is that the Japanese announcer started saying "Four minutes until Japan is in the World Cup! Three minutes until Japan is in the World Cup! Two minutes until Japan is in the World Cup!".

[CO_Hoya]

Here's the last few minutes of the game, as called by the Honduran announcers (link). Kinda lousy quality, though.