The opening semi-final from the Gold Cup takes place in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time when the tournament hosts are back in action in Dallas as the USA look to return to the final. They will have to overcome the significant obstacle of Costa Rica if they are to make it that far though.
Costa Rica
The World Cup quarter finalists head into the semi-final unbeaten in the tournament so far. If there is a concern it could come in the form of a relative shortage of goals but they will know full well if they keep the back door shut then they will only need one to make it into the final of this tournament.
They have only conceded one goal in four matches so far in the tournament and if they maintain that defensive record then they will be a significant obstacle to overcome in this match. We have seen Costa Rica go into knockout matches with a ‘we shall not lose’ attitude rather than taking risks and that is unlikely to change here.
USA
The tournament hosts took a while to get going in this competition but they look to be up and running now. Their last two wins have been convincing and had it not been for a couple of missed penalties they would have been even more emphatic which highlights just how they are going in the right direction.
Previous USA side have been known to switch off at times which is something they can no longer afford if they are going to win this tournament. I think the pressure is on them here given that the MLS is looking to increase its profile and it would look bad if off the back of that they fail to make the final of their own event.
Team News
Costa Rica have seen Joel Campbell leave this tournament early so they are going to be without their key man for this semi-final. Marco Urena could be the one to watch for them.
USA have added Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Michael Bradley and Darlington Nagbe to their squad since the tournament began and they look to be close to full strength for this semi-final.
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Betting
This tournament needs a classic knockout match to get it going but I am not convinced it is going to come here. I say that because it is not the style of Costa Rica to open up and get drawn into a battle royal.
Unless USA score early I can see this being a very tight and turgid match with the longer it goes without the deadlock being broken the more the two sides may well opt to take their chances on penalties rather than risk losing. All that combined makes me think that under 2 goals is the way to go here.
Tips
PUSH – Back Under 2 goals for a 4/10 stake at 1.98 with Unibet
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