The United States rallied from 2 goals down to tie Costa Rica 2-2 at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC last night. Combined with Mexico’s 2-2 tie against Trinidad & Tobago, the result gave the USA top spot in the CONCACAF FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifying Hexagonal with a total of 20 points.
The result, along with Honduras’ 1-0 win at El Salvador, means that Costa Rica must now face Uruguay in a tricky home and away playoff series for a spot in the World Cup.
Bryan Ruiz’ two sublime goals in the first half gave the Ticos the lead heading into the break. However, inspired by a raucous pro-USA crowd the Stars and Stripes staged a comeback with a scrappy 72nd minute goal from Michael Bradley and a Johnathan Bornstein’s with 30 seconds left in the match.
Match: United States vs. Costa Rica
Date: October 14, 2009
Competition: FIFA World Cup Qualifier — Final Round
Venue: RFK Stadium — Washington, D.C.
Kickoff: 8 p.m.ET
Attendance: 26,243
Weather: 45 degrees, rain
Scoring Summary:
CRC — Bryan Ruiz (Michael Barrantes) 21st minute
CRC — Bryan Ruiz (Walter Centeno) 24
USA — Michael Bradley 72
USA — Jonathan Bornstein (Robbie Rogers) 90+5