ARLINGTON, Texas (July 22, 2017) – The U.S. Men’s National Team utilized two second-half goals in the span of 10 minutes from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey to defeat Costa Rica 2-0 in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinal in front of 45,516 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Dempsey’s 82nd minute strike was the 57th of his international career, tying him with Landon Donovan for the most all-time by a U.S. MNT player.
With the win, the U.S. MNT moves on to its record 10th Gold Cup Final on Wednesday, July 26 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. (9:30 p.m. ET; FS1, Univision and Univision Deportes Network), where it will meet the winner of Sunday’s second semifinal between Mexico and Jamaica.
Coming on the heels of a fury of second-half chances, the breakthrough came six minutes after Dempsey entered, unlocking the Costa Rica defense with a beautiful pass for Altidore who then tucked his effort past Costa Rica ‘keeper Patrick Pemberton in the 72nd minute.
Dempsey got in on the scoring 10 minutes later, when he curled a low free kick from 25 yards out around the Costa Rica wall and just inside the right post to record his historic 57th all-time goal
Next on the Schedule: The U.S. MNT takes on the winner of Sunday’s Mexico-Jamaica Semifinal in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final on Wednesday, July 26. Kickoff from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET on FS1, Univision and Univision Deportes Network).
Social: Twitter (@ussoccer; @ussoccer_esp); Facebook; Instagram; Snapchat (ussoccer_mnt)
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Jozy Altidore (Clint Dempsey), 72nd minute: The breakthrough finally came shortly after Clint Dempsey’s entrance into the match. Having created a chance for Kellyn Acosta two minutes earlier, the substitute forward picked up a ball from Nagbe in midfield and glided past two Costa Rica defenders before playing the final pass to get Altidore into the box on the left. Dempsey’s pass helped the U.S. forward beat Jose Salvatierra before he slipped his low effort past onrushing Costa Rica ‘keeper Patrick Pemberton. USA 1, CRC 0 [WATCH]
USA – Clint Dempsey, 82nd minute: History was made 10 minutes after the opening goal as Dempsey lined up a free kick about 25 yards out. The substitute forward curled his low effort around the Costa Rica wall and inside the lower right post, hitting home his 57th career international strike to tie Landon Donovan at the top of the U.S. MNT all-time goal scoring chart. Dempsey equaled Donovan in front of numerous family members and friends in his home state of Texas.
*ussoccer.com
