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Did Papa Red Bull acquire the national team of Costa Rica and not tell us?
The New York Red Bulls have announced that Red Bull Arena will host the US Men's National Team on October 13 for a friendly against CONCACAF rivals, Costa Rica. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:30 pm, Eastern. October 13 is scheduled to be a Tuesday.
The official announcement arrived shortly after the scheduled start of the latest international friendly to be played at Red Bull Arena: Brazil vs...um...Costa Rica. The match against the USA in October will therefore be La Sele's second outing at RBA in little over a month. Has Papa found a second tenant for the Arena?
The match will function as a tune-up for November's CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, when both USMNT and Costa Rica will start their campaign for a berth at the 2018 tournament in Russia. In the USA's case, expect something of a B-team: Jurgen Klinsmann will be expected to put out his strongest possible lineup for the October 10 showdown with Mexico, where CONCACAF's spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup is up for grabs.
That match is in California. It seems unlikely the USMNT head coach will ask the same players who exert themselves against El Tri to trek cross-country for a run-out against Costa Rica just three days later.
Nonetheless, it is an international match featuring USMNT and RBA's unofficial national team of choice, Costa Rica.
RBNY season ticket holders should keep an eye on their email inboxes: they will get an exclusive pre-sale window for tickets to the match starting Wednesday, September 9 at 10 am. Tickets go on sale to the general public on September 11 at 10 am, via ticketmaster.com and ussoccer.com.