In a World Cup North American qualifier on March 31, Beijing time, Costa Rica defeated the world's 13th-ranked United States team 2-0 at home. In this match Costa Rica lined up a more conservative 541 formation, with only one Antoni Contreras in front. The U.S. team is a more aggressive 433 offensive formation, with pulisic, Pepi and Wea combining attacks. The result was a complete victory for Costa Rica.
In this game, the United States team had the advantage in the first half, with 60% of the possession and a lot of shots on goal, a full 8 shots on goal, 4 shots on target, and failed to score, because of the encounter with Navas. Costa Rica, on the other hand, scored only one of its six shots on target in the first half, and also did not score. By the second half, the U.S. still had an absolute advantage in possession, but Costa Rica was more efficient in attack. Juan Vargas's header in the 50th minute broke through the U.S. goal. Eight minutes later, Contreras scored from close range in front of goal. The U.S. team conceded two goals in 8 minutes and collapsed. After that, the U.S. team made 3 consecutive substitutions, but it did not have any effect, and it was not able to score until the end of the game. In the end, Costa Rica won the match 2-0.
The best performer in this game is undoubtedly Costa Rican goalkeeper Navas. Navas made six pokes in the match, scoring a game-high 8.3 points in the post-match sofascore rating. Navas is really too stable, even at the age of 35, he can still maintain a very good state. At Navas's current level, he can definitely play the starting position at Paris Saint-Germain. Unfortunately, Pochettino chose Donarumma in the key battle of the Champions League, abandoning Navas, who has a wealth of Experience in the Champions League. Otherwise Paris Saint-Germain would not necessarily be eliminated by Real Madrid. Although the American star Pulisic scored a hat-trick in the last game, this time he did not even shoot 1 shot, did not try anyone, and sent 3 key passes to score 7.3 points.
Although the United States lost this last World Preliminary Round, it did not prevent the United States from advancing to the World Cup finals. The U.S. finished 3rd with 25 points and went straight to the World Cup finals alongside the top two, Canada and Mexico. Costa Rica, although on the same points as the U.S. team, did not have the same goal difference as the U.S. team, and could only rank 4th, having to participate in the intercontinental play-offs. In the play-offs, Costa Rica will play against New Zealand. Costa Rica is significantly stronger than New Zealand. It is believed that Costa Rica has a high chance of qualifying for the World Cup.