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The worst-ever iteration of a US Men's National Team will stumble into Red Bull Arena under the clueless and disastrous "leadership" of know-nothing-blame-everyone head coach Jurgen Klinsmann on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 (Am I doing this right? I don't really cover USMNT all that often these days).
If you are in the mood to watch the continuing funeral procession for America's reputation in global soccer, tune in to see the Yanks take on Costa Rica - a team that has risen higher (2014 World Cup quarterfinalist) and fallen further (one win in 12 games in 2015) than the USA during its futile struggle to resist Klinsmann's effort to lead it to a new historic low point.
Tempting as it is to paint this match as a playoff for the title of Least Competent Team in CONCACAF, it is actually an intriguing early look at what one should reasonably expect to be two of the region's top contenders for a spot in the 2018 World Cup. Both teams have suffered a rather stilted transition into the new qualifying cycle, but both won't really suffer any consequences for that unless those difficulties persist into November, when matches with significant influence on CONCACAF's representation in Russia will take place.
The Costa Ricans will be missing established and emerging stars like Bryan Ruiz and David Ramirez. The USA has swapped out a few of the players from the squad picked to face Mexico (including, controversially, Fabian Johnson - sent home for not trying hard enough, it is suggested) for MLSers like Lee Nguyen and Mix Diskerud.
Those absences and changes give this match a bit of a second-team feel, but it is still a meeting between two teams presumed to be in CONCACAF's top tier and there are still plenty of first-choice names in both squads. The game should provide an interesting peek at the depth of both talent pools.